学术报告：Proteins that lead to topological transitions in membranes
题目：Proteins that lead to topological transitions in membranes报告：Prof. Gerard C. L. Wong （Department of Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry, and the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA）
时间：2012年6月 15日（星期五）上午10：45
地点：嘉定园区学术活动中心307
报告简介：
We examine prototypical examples of peptides that change membrane topology via a combination of electrostatics and the hydrophobic effect. For example, antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) from innate immunity have broad spectrum antimicrobial activity, and are known to disrupt the barrier function of bacterial membranes specifically, through processes such as pore formation. Using synchrotron small angle x-ray scattering (SAXS), confocal microscopy, and cell-based experiments, we find that AMPs generate saddle-splay (‘negative Gaussian’) membrane curvature, which geometrically enables topological processes such as pore formation in cell membranes. Importantly, this need for negative Gaussian curvature places significant constraints on the amino acid composition of all AMPs, and we deduce a selection rule that is consistent with the amino acid compositions of the 1,080 known cationic AMP sequences. In addition to antimicrobial peptides, other systems such as cell penetrating peptides (CPPs) and apoptosis proteins can be understood using the same perspective. If timing permits, we will discuss our recent work on Greens Function imaging of water transport through confined geometries.
报告人简介：
Gerard C. L. Wong is a Professor in the Department of Bioengineering, Department of Chemistry, and the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA. Wong received his BS and PhD at Caltech physics and Berkeley physics respectively. He joined the Materials Science & Engineering Dept and Physics Dept at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2000. His awards include a Beckman Young Investigator Award, an Alfred P Sloan Fellowship, and two Xerox Faculty Research Awards. His current directions of research include antimicrobials for antibiotic resistant infections, innate immunity, bacterial communities, apoptosis, cystic fibrosis, and femtosecond hydration dynamics. He was elected to be a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2011, and currently serves on the Editorial Board of Physical Review E.
相关附件