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Green Fluorescent Protein

by Eran Hodis
Green fluorescent protein (GFP) is a bioluminescent polypeptide isolated from the jellyfish Aequorea victoria. GFP converts the blue chemiluminescence of aequorin into green fluorescent light. In the laboratory, GFP can be incorporated into a variety of biological systems in order to function as a marker protein. Since its discovery in 1962, GFP has become a significant contributor to the research of monitoring gene expression, localization, mobility, traffic, or interactions between various membrane and cytoplasmic proteins.

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Molecular Sculpture

by Eric Martz
A historical review on sculptures and physical models of macromolecules.

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Interconversion of the specificities of human lysosomal enzymes associated with Fabry and Schindler diseases.

IB Tomasic, MC Metcalf, AI Guce, NE Clark, SC Garman. J. Biol. Chem. 2010 doi: 10.1074/jbc.M110.118588
The human lysosomal enzymes α-galactosidase and α-N-acetylgalactosaminidase share 46% amino acid sequence identity and have similar folds. Using a rational protein engineering approach, we interconverted the enzymatic specificity of α-GAL and α-NAGAL. The engineered α-GAL retains the antigenicity but has acquired the enzymatic specificity of α-NAGAL. Conversely, the engineered α-NAGAL retains the antigenicity but has acquired the enzymatic specificity of the α-GAL enzyme. Comparison of the crystal structures of the designed enzyme to the wild-type enzymes shows that active sites superimpose well, indicating success of the rational design. The designed enzymes might be useful as non-immunogenic alternatives in enzyme replacement therapy for treatment of lysosomal storage disorders such as Fabry disease.

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Polio is still here!
Polio vaccines have been available since the 1950s, but the challenges of vaccination in remote areas of Afghanistan and Pakistan have prevented worldwide eradication. In 2022, polio was found circulating in parts of New York State, USA. The polio virus has a small RNA genome enclosed in an icosahedral capsid composed of several proteins, shown cut in half. The structures of virus capsids can be explored using free FirstGlance in Jmol.

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