Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UNIPROT:P50583 (asymmetrical)
 12,197 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The images of human and bovine alpha-fetoprotein molecules have been enhanced by combining dark-field electron microscopy with a laser-assisted optical system. This system filters out random background noise while permitting true averaged signal reconstruction of the molecule. A single averaged molecular image was digitized into a matrix, each pixel being assigned a gray scale level to produce a relative mass map for each molecule. These maps were interpreted from the alpha-helix, beta-form, and random coil of the purified proteins as determined by circular dichroism. Results showed that both molecules are "U shaped", apparently monomeric, with outside dimensions of approximately 80 A. Both molecules have asymmetrical structural features, notably three mass dense regions at both extremities and at the vertex of the molecules. Circular dichroism data suggest a high degree of similar stabilized alpha-helix and extensive beta-form in these regions. Mass map analysis of hAFP correlates with the subdomains organized by disulfide bridges.
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PMID:Structural analysis of human and bovine alpha-fetoprotein by electron microscopy, image processing, and circular dichroism. 619 91

During fetal life, there are periods of rapid cell proliferation, which are uniquely sensitive to nutritional perturbation. Feeding the pregnant rat a protein-restricted diet alters the growth trajectory of major fetal organs such as the kidney. By day 21 of gestation, the ratio of kidney weight to total body weight is reduced in the fetuses of dams fed a protein-deficient diet. In contrast, the ratio of fetal liver weight to total body weight is unchanged. To investigate the mechanisms underlying this disproportionate change in organ growth in the low-protein group, cell proliferation and differentiation have been assessed in the liver and kidney. The steady-state levels of mRNA for the growth-arrest and DNA-damage gene gadd153/CHOP-10, CCAAT enhancer-binding proteins alpha and beta were unaffected by maternal diet in both fetal liver and kidney. The mRNA for alpha-fetoprotein, albumin and hepatic glucokinase were unchanged in the liver, suggesting that maternal protein deficiency does not alter the state of differentiation. The steady-state levels of the mRNA coding for the cyclin-dependent protein kinase inhibitors (p15(INK4a), p19(INK4d), p21(CIP1), p27(KIP1) and p57(KIP2)) were unchanged in the fetal livers but were significantly increased in the kidneys of fetuses from dams fed the low-protein diet. These results show that the asymmetrical growth of the kidney is associated with increases in mRNA for the Cip/Kip cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors and that these may reflect specific lesions in organ development.
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PMID:The expression of growth-arrest genes in the liver and kidney of the protein-restricted rat fetus. 1611 27