Superoxide dismutase (SOD,EC 1.15.1.1) is an enzyme that alternately catalyzes the dismutation (or partitioning) of the superoxide (O−
2) radical into ordinary molecular oxygen (O2) and hydrogen peroxide (H
2O
2). Superoxide is produced as a by-product of oxygen metabolism and,if not regulated,causes many types of cell damage. Hydrogen peroxide is also damaging and is degraded by other enzymes such as catalase. Thus,SOD is an important antioxidant defense in nearly all living cells exposed to oxygen. One exception is Lactobacillus plantarum and related lactobacilli,which use a different mechanism to prevent damage from reactive O−
2.
Structural biology is a field that is many centuries old which,as defined by the Journal of Structural Biology,deals with structural analysis of living material at every level of organization. Early structural biologists throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries were primarily only able to study structures to the limit of the naked eye's visual acuity and through magnifying glasses and light microscopes.
Protein folding is the physical process where a protein chain is translated into its native three-dimensional structure,typically a "folded" conformation,by which the protein becomes biologically functional. Via an expeditious and reproducible process,a polypeptide folds into its characteristic three-dimensional structure from a random coil. Each protein exists first as an unfolded polypeptide or random coil after being translated from a sequence of mRNA into a linear chain of amino acids. At this stage,the polypeptide lacks any stable three-dimensional structure. As the polypeptide chain is being synthesized by a ribosome,the linear chain begins to fold into its three-dimensional structure.
The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry (MPIB) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried,a suburb of Munich. The institute was founded in 1973 by the merger of three formerly independent institutes:the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry,the Max Planck Institute of Protein and Leather Research,and the Max Planck Institute of Cell Chemistry.
Molecular biophysics is a rapidly evolving interdisciplinary area of research that combines concepts in physics,chemistry,engineering,mathematics and biology. It seeks to understand biomolecular systems and explain biological function in terms of molecular structure,structural organization,and dynamic behaviour at various levels of complexity. This discipline covers topics such as the measurement of molecular forces,molecular associations,allosteric interactions,Brownian motion,and cable theory. Additional areas of study can be found on Outline of Biophysics. The discipline has required development of specialized equipment and procedures capable of imaging and manipulating minute living structures,as well as novel experimental approaches.
Gregory A. Petsko is an American biochemist and member of the National Academy of Sciences,the National Academy of Medicine,the American Academy of Arts and Sciences,and the American Philosophical Society. He is currently Professor of Neurology at the Ann Romney Center for Neurologic Diseases at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He formerly had an endowed professorship in Neurology and Neuroscience at Weill Cornell Medical College and is still an adjunct professor of Biomedical Engineering at Cornell University,and is also the Gyula and Katica Tauber Professor,Emeritus,in biochemistry and chemistry at Brandeis University. On October 24,2023,in a ceremony in the East Room of the White House,President Joe Biden presented Gregory Petsko and eight others with the National Medal of Science,the highest honor the United States can bestow on a scientist and engineer.
Superoxide dismutase [Cu-Zn] also known as superoxide dismutase 1 or hSod1 is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the SOD1 gene,located on chromosome 21. SOD1 is one of three human superoxide dismutases. It is implicated in apoptosis,familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
The serine/threonine-protein kinase/endoribonuclease inositol-requiring enzyme 1 α (IRE1α) is an enzyme that in humans is encoded by the ERN1 gene.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS),also known as motor neurone disease (MND) or Lou Gehrig's disease,is a rare and terminal neurodegenerative disease that results in the progressive loss of motor neurons that control voluntary muscles. ALS is the most common form of the motor neuron diseases. Early symptoms of ALS include stiff muscles,muscle twitches,gradual increasing weakness,and muscle wasting. Limb-onset ALS begins with weakness in the arms or legs,while bulbar-onset ALS begins with difficulty in speaking or swallowing. Around half of people with ALS develop at least mild difficulties with thinking and behavior,and about 15% develop frontotemporal dementia. Motor neuron loss continues until the abilities to eat,speak,move,or,lastly,breathe are lost.
Reginald John Ellis is a British scientist.
Victor Muñoz is a biochemist whose focus has been on protein folding and design. He provided experimental evidence for a mechanism of protein folding called as "downhill folding". He has pioneered various computational and experimental techniques to study this mechanism as well as to gain insights into the general process of protein folding.
Ruth Nussinov is an Israeli-American biologist born in Rehovot who works as a Professor in the Department of Human Genetics,School of Medicine at Tel Aviv University and is the Senior Principal Scientist and Principal Investigator at the National Cancer Institute,National Institutes of Health. Nussinov is also the Editor in Chief of the Current Opinion in Structural Biology and formerly of the journal PLOS Computational Biology.
A protein superfamily is the largest grouping (clade) of proteins for which common ancestry can be inferred. Usually this common ancestry is inferred from structural alignment and mechanistic similarity,even if no sequence similarity is evident. Sequence homology can then be deduced even if not apparent. Superfamilies typically contain several protein families which show sequence similarity within each family. The term protein clan is commonly used for protease and glycosyl hydrolases superfamilies based on the MEROPS and CAZy classification systems.
Sheena Elizabeth Radford FRS FMedSci is a British biophysicist,and Astbury Professor of Biophysics in the Astbury Centre for Structural Molecular Biology,School of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of Leeds. Radford is the Associate Editor of the Journal of Molecular Biology.
Copper chaperone for superoxide dismutase is a metalloprotein that is responsible for the delivery of Cu to superoxide dismutase (SOD1). CCS is a 54kDa protein that is present in mammals and most eukaryotes including yeast. The structure of CCS is composed of three distinct domains that are necessary for its function. Although CCS is important for many organisms,there are CCS independent pathways for SOD1,and many species lack CCS all together,such as C. elegans. In humans the protein is encoded by the CCS gene.
Narayanaswamy Srinivasan was an Indian molecular biophysicist and a professor and the head of Proteins:Structure,Function and Evolutionary Group at the Molecular Biophysics Unit of the Indian Institute of Science. He is known for his researches in the fields of computational genomics and protein structure analysis. An elected fellow of the Indian Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Sciences,India,he is a J. C. Bose National fellow of the Department of Biotechnology and a recipient of the National Bioscience Award for Career Development of the Department of Science and Technology. The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research,the apex agency of the Government of India for scientific research,awarded him the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology,one of the highest Indian science awards,in 2007,for his contributions to biological sciences.
Benjamin Wolozin is an American pharmacologist and neurologist currently at Boston University School of Medicine and an Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
There are more than 25 genes known to be associated with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) as of June 2018,which collectively account for about 70% of cases of familial ALS (fALS) and 10% of cases of sporadic ALS (sALS). About 5–10% of cases of ALS are directly inherited. Overall,first-degree relatives of an individual with ALS have a 1% risk of developing ALS. ALS has an oligogenic mode of inheritance,meaning that mutations in two or more genes are required to cause disease.
Research on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has focused on animal models of the disease,its mechanisms,ways to diagnose and track it,and treatments.
Jean Baum is an American chemist. She is the distinguished professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Rutgers University,where she is also vice dean for research and graduate education in the school of arts and sciences,and also vice chair of the department of chemistry and chemical biology. Her research investigates protein–protein interaction and protein aggregation using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) and other biochemical and biophysical techniques. She serves as treasurer for the Protein Society.
