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Edible plants have been widely used in traditional therapeutics because of the biological activities of their natural ingredients, including anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties. Plant sap contains such medicinal substances and their secondary metabolites provide unique chemical structures that contribute to their therapeutic efficacy. Plant extracts are known to contain a variety of extracellular vesicles (EVs) but the effects of such EVs on various cancers have not been in

Connexin family proteins assemble into hexameric channels called hemichannels/connexons, which function as transmembrane channels or dock together to form gap junction intercellular channels (GJIChs). We determined the cryo-electron microscopy structures of human connexin 31.3 (Cx31.3)/GJC3 hemichannels in the presence and absence of calcium ions and with a hearing-loss mutation R15G at 2.3-, 2.5-, and 2.6-Å resolutions, respectively. Compared with available structures of GJICh in open conformat

p62/SQSTM1 is the key autophagy adapter protein and the hub of multi-cellular signaling. It was recently reported that autophagy and N-end rule pathways are linked via p62. However, the exact recognition mode of degrading substrates and regulation of p62 in the autophagic pathway remain unknown. Here, we present the complex structures between the ZZ-domain of p62 and various type-1 and type-2 N-degrons. The binding mode employed in the interaction of the ZZ-domain with N-degrons differs from tha

Escherichia coli AcrAB-TolC is a multidrug efflux pump that expels a wide range of toxic substrates. The dynamic nature of the binding or low affinity between the components has impeded elucidation of how the three components assemble in the functional state. Here, we created fusion proteins composed of AcrB, a transmembrane linker, and two copies of AcrA. The fusion protein exhibited acridine pumping activity, suggesting that the protein reflects the functional structure in vivo. To discern the

In contrast to most enveloped viruses, poxviruses produce infectious particles that do not acquire their internal lipid membrane by budding through cellular compartments. Instead, poxvirus immature particles are generated from atypical crescent-shaped precursors whose architecture and composition remain contentious. Here we describe the 2.6 Å crystal structure of vaccinia virus D13, a key structural component of the outer scaffold of viral crescents. D13 folds into two jellyrolls decorated by a

In a mature and infectious retroviral particle, the capsid protein (CA) forms a shell surrounding the genomic RNA and the replicative machinery of the virus. The irregular nature of this capsid shell precludes direct atomic resolution structural analysis. CA hexamers and pentamers are the fundamental building blocks of the capsid, however the pentameric state, in particular, remains poorly characterized. We have developed an efficient in vitro protocol for studying the assembly of Rous sarcoma v

Orf virus, the prototype parapoxvirus, is responsible for contagious ecthyma in sheep and goats. The central region of the viral genome codes for proteins highly conserved among vertebrate poxviruses and which are frequently essential for viral proliferation. Analysis of the recently published genome sequence of orf virus revealed that among such essential proteins, the protein orfv075 is an orthologue of D13, the rifampin resistance gene product critical for vaccinia virus morphogenesis. Previo

The structure and function of the Antarctic marine diatom Chaetoceros neogracile antifreeze protein (Cn‐AFP), as well as its expression levels and characteristics of the ice‐binding site, were analyzed in the present study. In silico analysis revealed that the Cn‐AFP promoter contains both light‐ and temperature‐responsive elements. Northern and Western blot analyses demonstrated that both Cn‐AFP transcript and protein expression were strongly and rapidly stimulated by freezing, as well as tempe

In Vaccinia virus (VACV), the prototype poxvirus, scaffold protein D13 forms a honeycomb-like lattice on the viral membrane that results in formation of the pleomorphic immature virion (IV). The structure of D13 is similar to those of major capsid proteins that readily form icosahedral capsids in nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses (NCLDVs). However, the detailed assembly mechanism of the nonicosahedral poxvirus scaffold has never been understood. Here we show the cryo-EM structures of the D13 t

Zoonotic poxvirus infections pose significant threat to human health as we have witnessed recent spread of monkeypox. Therefore, insights into molecular mechanism behind poxvirus replication cycle are needed for the development of efficient antiviral strategies. Virion assembly is one of the key steps that determine the fate of replicating poxviruses. However, in-depth understanding of poxvirus assembly is challenging due to the complex nature of multi-step morphogenesis and heterogeneous virion

Abstract In biology, evolutionary conserved protein sequences show homologous physiological phenotypes in their structures and functions. If the protein has a vital function, its sequence is usually conserved across the species. However, in highly conserved protein there still remains small differences across the species. Upon protein–protein interaction (PPI), it is observed that the conserved proteins can have different binding partners that are considered to be caused by the small sequence va

Abstracts Background Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) is an excellent tool for studying detailed biological structures. High-resolution structure determination is now routinely performed using advanced sample preparation techniques and image processing software. In particular, correction for contrast transfer function (CTF) is crucial for extracting high-resolution information from TEM image that is convoluted by imperfect imaging condition. Accurate determination of defocus, one of the ma