A5031802814- RNA and protein synthesis mechanisms
- Click Chemistry and Applications
- Selenium in Biological Systems
- Trace Elements in Health
- Chemical Synthesis and Analysis
- Immune Cell Function and Interaction
- Organoselenium and organotellurium chemistry
- Redox biology and oxidative stress
- RNA modifications and cancer
- HIV Research and Treatment
- Monoclonal and Polyclonal Antibodies Research
- Cellular transport and secretion
- Mercury impact and mitigation studies
- Neuroinflammation and Neurodegeneration Mechanisms
- biodegradable polymer synthesis and properties
- Mass Spectrometry Techniques and Applications
- Protein Structure and Dynamics
- Lipid Membrane Structure and Behavior
- RNA Interference and Gene Delivery
- Viral Infectious Diseases and Gene Expression in Insects
- Protein Degradation and Inhibitors
- Advanced Polymer Synthesis and Characterization
- Virus-based gene therapy research
- DNA and Nucleic Acid Chemistry
- Chemokine receptors and signaling
Colgate University
2022
Boston College
2019-2020
Rockefeller University
2013-2019
Franklin & Marshall College
2009-2012
Carnegie Mellon University
2010
Bioorthogonal ligation methods with improved reaction rates and less obtrusive components are needed for site-specifically labeling proteins without catalysts. Currently no general method exists in vivo site-specific of that combines fast rate stable, nontoxic, chemoselective reagents. To overcome these limitations, we have developed a tetrazine-containing amino acid, 1, is stable inside living cells. We genetically encoded this unique acid response to an amber codon allowing single 1 be...
Site-specific incorporation of multiple distinct noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) into a protein is an emerging technology with tremendous potential. It relies on mutually orthogonal engineered aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pairs that suppress different nonsense/frameshift codons. So far, up to two ncAAs have been incorporated proteins expressed in E. coli, using archaea-derived tyrosyl and pyrrolysyl pairs. Here we report the coli derived tryptophanyl pair can be combined archaeal or ATMW1...
The experimental study of protein folding is enhanced by the use nonintrusive probes that are sensitive to local conformational changes in structure. Here, we report selection an aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNA pair for cotranslational, site-specific incorporation two unnatural amino acids can function as fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) donors with Trp probe disruption hydrophobic core upon unfolding. l-4-Cyanophenylalanine (pCNPhe) and 4-ethynylphenylalanine (pENPhe) were...
Despite the importance of protein−polymer bioconjugates, there is no general method for producing homogeneous recombinant protein that contains polymer initiators at defined sites. To address this deficiency, we designed amino acid 4-(2′-bromoisobutyramido)phenylalanine (1) as an initiator in atom-transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) would provide a stable linkage between and growing polymer. We synthesized 1 evolved Methanococcus jannaschii tyrosyl-tRNA synthetase/tRNACUA pair to...
Many unnatural amino acid synthetases have been evolved to enable the site-specific in vivo incorporation of many useful functionalities into proteins. While these acid-tRNA synthetase-tRNA(CUA) pairs do not incorporate endogenous acids, their substrate specificity has assessed for other acids. Here we demonstrate that can be permissive substrates. The utility further expanded by manipulating synthetase active sites mutagenesis. also shown an l-2-naphthylalanine converted a...
Selenoproteins contain the amino acid selenocysteine (Sec) and are found in all domains of life. The functions many selenoproteins poorly understood, partly due to difficulties producing recombinant for cell-biological evaluation. Endogenous mammalian produced through a noncanonical translation mechanism requiring suppression UGA stop codon Sec insertion sequence (SECIS) element 3′ untranslated region mRNA. Here, generated cells genetic code expansion, circumventing requirement SECIS...
ABSTRACT Selenoproteins contain the amino acid selenocysteine and are found in all domains of life. The functions many selenoproteins poorly understood, partly due to difficulties producing recombinant for cell-biological evaluation. Endogenous mammalian produced through a non-canonical translation mechanism requiring suppression UGA stop codon, insertion sequence (SECIS) element 3’ untranslated region mRNA. Here, generated cells genetic code expansion, circumventing requirement SECIS...
Site‐specific in vivo incorporation of unnatural amino acids (UAAs) via aminoacyl tRNA synthetase (RS) mutagenesis has been widely used protein structure and function studies. While a large, diverse family UAAs incorporated into proteins, synthetases for certain seem problematic to evolve or generate. We developed reporter system explore substrate specificity current UAA RSs. Using these permissive RSs, structural limitations have explored. The photocrosslinking anthraquinonylalanine...
ABSTRACT The chemokine receptor CCR5 is a drug target to prevent transmission of HIV/AIDS. We studied four analogs the native RANTES (CCL5) that have anti-HIV potencies around 25 pM, which more than orders-of-magnitude higher itself. It has been hypothesized ultra-high potency due their ability bind populations receptors not accessible chemokines. To test this hypothesis, we developed homogeneous dual-color fluorescence cross-correlation spectroscopy (FCCS) assay for saturation and...