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PSB

Carl-Ivar Bränden building (CIBB)
71, Avenue des Martyrs
CS 90181
F-38042 Grenoble
Intranet

Seminars

Cryo-electron microscopy of biological macromolecular structures

By Koji Yonekura (RIKEN SPring-8 Center, Hyogo, Japan)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 Abstract


Hosted by Wai Li Ling (IBS)


CANCELLED: Bacterial toxin-antitoxin systems: why so many, what for?

By Laurence Van Melderen

Jean Roget Seminar

where?: Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.

link


PSB Science Day

PSB Science Day

Partnership for Structural Biology



ILL Chadwick amphitheatre


Session 1, chair: Sean McSweeney (ESRF)

 13h30 Matthew Bowler (ESRF): The mechanism of phosphoryl hydrolysis studied by 19F-NMR and
X-ray crystallography
 13h50 Bruno Franzetti (IBS): Structures, mode of action and cellular role of the TET polypeptides destruction machines
 14h10 Franck Tarendeau (EMBL): Influenza polymerase PB2
 14h30 Wim Burmeister (UVHCI) : Structure of Epstein-Barr virus exonuclease
 14h50 Phil Callow (ILL): Small Angle Neutron Scattering Studies of the Human Pyruvate Dehydrogenase Complex

15h10 – 15h40 Coffee break

Session 2, chair: Darren Hart (EMBL)

 15h40 Ganesh Natrajan (ESRF): Structure of HobA: a new regulator of DNA replication in Helicobacter pylori
 16h00 Dimitrios Skoufias (IBS): The A and B in spindle localization of auroras; a single amino acid makes the difference in centrosome versus inner centromere localization of aurora kinases
 16h20 Juan Sanchez Weatherby (EMBL): Online crystal humidifier
 16h40 Suman Lata (UVHCI): ESCRT-III nano-coils are disassembled by VPS4
 17h00 Susana Teixeira (ILL): Neutron crystallography at the Deuteration Laboratory - a few examples


Relations structure-fonction des transporteurs mitochondriaux

By Iula BLESNEAC

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

PhD Defense: Le passage sélectif d’ions et de métabolites àtravers les membranes biologiques est essentiel àde nombreux processus cellulaires fondamentaux. Au niveau de la membrane interne de la mitochondrie, la communication cellulaire et les processus d’échanges sont principalement assurés par les transporteurs mitochondriaux. Ces protéines membranaires jouent un rôle clef dans les fonctions métaboliques des cellules eucaryotes et leur dysfonctionnement est àl’origine d’un certain nombre de maladies graves chez l’homme
Parmi les transporteurs mitochondriaux, deux familles ont été étudiées au cours de ce travail : les AACs (ADP/ATP Carriers) et les UCPs (UnCoupling Proteins). Deux systèmes de production hétérologue de ces transporteurs ont été mis en place : la synthèse in vitro et l’expression chez E.coli de protéines de fusion. Le premier a permis la production et la purification d’environ 0,6 mg de protéine par mL de réaction et le deuxième a été exploité afin de réaliser des caractérisations fonctionnelles des transporteurs ADP/ATP. Un test fonctionnel pour la protéine découplante a également été mis au point. Ce test, basé sur la mesure directe des courants électriques associés àl’activité de transport de l’UCP, àpermis la caractérisation fonctionnelle de la protéine UCP1 native.


Revealing the mechanism of folding upon binding in intrinsically unfolded viral proteins using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy

by Malene Ringkjobing Jensen (IBS)

EMBL Progress Report

EMBL seminar room



Caracterisation biophysique et structurale du complexe de replication des Rhabdoviridae

by Francine Gérard (UVHCI)

PhD defense

Chadwick Amphitheatre, ILL



Channels and pores. Getting through the membranes

By James H. Naismith, University of St Andrews, Scotland. U.K

PSB seminar

Chadwick Amphitheatre (ILL)


Biology can only exist by enclosing its contents, otherwise the contents would be washed away. Gram negative bacteria have two cell walls, an outer and an inner membrane. In addition to holding contents in and poisons out, the cell wall must allow passage of nutrients and waste products. The lecture will discuss an outer membrane protein, Wza which is responsible for the export of carbohydrate polymers. We have determined its structure to high resolution. The inner membrane of bacteria is subject to enormous osmotic pressure when bacteria move from one environment to another. Failure to release pressure will cause cell death. This tightly regulated system senses pressure. I will present a conformationally trapped structure that explains the basis of opening and closing by mechanosensitive channels. These channels are embedded in the inner membrane.


Hosted by Sean McSweeney (ESRF)


POSTPONED : How does a ribozyme work ?

By David M.J. Lilley, University of Dundee, Scotland. U.K

PSB seminar

Chadwick Amphitheatre (ILL)


The VS ribozyme is the largest of the nucleolytic ribozymes, and the only member of the class for which there is no crystal structure. We have used small-angle X-ray solution scattering in an ab initio structural reconstruction of the complete VS ribozyme, and its components. The structure of the ribozyme is based around a core comprising a coaxial stack of three helices. Two further helices extend laterally, organized by two three-way helical junctions. An additional three-way junction formed by an auxiliary helix directs the substrate stem-loop, juxtaposing the cleavage site with the A730 internal loop of helix VI to create the active complex. We have identified a guanine (G638) and an adenine (A756) nucleobase as critical to the rate of central conversion of substrate to product and proposed a chemical mechanism for the ribozyme that involves general acid-base catalysis by the combined action of these nucleobases. This is supported by the pH dependence of the reaction rate for the natural substrate and those modified at position 638, and by the observation that A756 can be replaced with an imidazole nucleotide analog with preservation of activity. From recent experiments we conclude that A756 is the general acid in the cleavage reaction, leaving G638 as the base that removes the proton from the 2’-O in the cleavage reaction.
The proposed mechanism is closely similar to the probable mechanism of the hairpin ribozyme. The striking similarity of the two nucleolytic ribozymes has probably arisen by convergent evolution. Single-molecule experiments showing active hairpin ribozyme carrying out cleavage and ligation reactions will be shown.


Hosted by Trevor Forsyth (ILL)


GPCRs directly linked to an ion channel. An electrical probe for conformational studies, drug screenings and diagnostics.

by Christophe Moreau, Institut de Biologie Structurale

CIBB seminar

CIBB seminar room


Based on the natural example of KATP channels in which a "receptor" intimately regulates an ion channel (Kir6.2), we physically coupled two different human GPCRs with Kir6.2, in order to create electrical probes for GPCR ligands, called ICCRs (Ion Channel Coupled Receptors). The electrical nature of the signal allows real-time measurements with high signal/noise ratio in in vivo and cell-free conditions, and it avoids the use of labelled ligands.
First ICCRs were made by fusion of the human muscarinic M2 receptor with Kir6.2. The M2-Kir6.2 fusion proteins were heterologously expressed in Xenopus oocytes and characterized electrophysiologically with the two-electrode voltage-clamp technique. Acetylcholine did not significantly activate the simple M2-Kir6.2 fusion protein in spite of the fact that the fused receptor is fully active as proved with co-expressed G-protein activated channels. After intensive protein engineering, we created optimized muscarinic ICCRs that were reversibly activated by acetylcholine, indicating a regulation of the Kir6.2 gating by the GPCR in active-state. We demonstrated i) that the current amplitude was correlated to agonist concentrations, ii) that optimized M2-Kir6.2 ICCRs were also inhibited by addition of antagonist, iii) that ACh-induced Kir6.2 activation was G-proteins independent as confirmed with co-expressed Pertussis toxin, and iv) that fusion proteins were functional in cell-free conditions as observed in patch-clamp recordings. Swapping the M2 receptor with the long D2 receptor, provided a dopaminergic ICCR specifically sensitive to its agonists and antagonists, but, unexpectedly, dopaminergic agonists inhibited D2-Kir6.2 currents.
In conclusion, we demonstrated that at least two GPCRs directly, reversibly and proportionally regulate the gating of a linked ion channel, by their ligand-induced conformational changes. Extended to others GPCRs, these ICCRs would be useful for complementary structure-function studies of GPCRs, and, in interface with microelectronics, they appear as promising tools for high throughput drug screenings and point-of-care in vitro diagnostics.

Moreau C. et al. (2008) Coupling ion channels to receptors for biomolecule sensing. Nature Nanotechnology. In press.


Hosted by Laurence Serre (ESRF)


ENDOSOME BIOGENESIS of ENDOSOME MEMBRANE DYNAMICS

By Jean Gruenberg, University of Geneva. Switzerland

CIBB seminar

CIBB seminar room



Hosted by Winfried Weissenhorn


Seeing is not always believing: complementary methods and X-ray crystallography

By Arwen Pearson ,University of Leeds,UK.

ILL seminar

EMBL seminar room


The combination of X-ray crystallography and rapid cryo-trapping methods have enabled the visualisation of catalytic intermediates in a variety of enzyme systems. However, the resolution of the X-ray experiment is not always sufficient to precisely place the structure on the reaction pathway. In addition, many trapped intermediates are X-ray sensitive and can decay during diffraction data collection, resulting in a final structure that may not be representative of the initial trapped species.
Complementary methods, such as single crystal spectroscopy, provide a means to precisely identify the cryo-trapped species as well as detect any X-ray induced changes during diffraction data collection.
I will present examples of the use of single crystal spectroscopy to both identify trapped intermediates as well as follow changes in redox state during X-ray exposure. I will also discuss new developments in the instrumentation available for single crystal spectroscopy at synchrotron sources.


Hosted by ILL College VIII


Josean Marquez Group

EMBL Progress Report

EMBL seminar Room



Macromolecular Self-Assemblies: Activation of the Growth Hormone Receptor

By David Poger, School of Molecular & Microbial Sciences, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Since the binding of the human growth hormone (hGH) to a homodimeric hGH receptor (hGHR)
was shown, the mechanism of activation of hGHR has remained controversial. The model for
activation was originally proposed as a hormone-induced sequential dimerization of the receptor
subunits and has been supported by several in vitro and in vivo studies.
However, there has been increasing evidence that hGHR would in fact exist as a preformed dimer
on the surface of cells in the absence of a ligand. The binding of hGH onto hGHR extracellular
domain follows a two-step mechanism where hGH fi rst binds to a receptor subunit and then to the
second one. The association of the two dimerization domains between the two receptor subunits
is essential to signal transduction to the receptor intracellular domain through the membrane. If
the hGHR monomers dimerize because of hGH binding, the activation process basically consists
in bringing the subunits together. However, if the hGHR exists as a constitutive dimer on the
cell surface, its activation must be mediated by a hGH binding-induced conformational change.
Waters and co-workers proposed a mechanism which supports this model and involves a relative
rotation and translation of the subunits within the dimeric receptor (Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. (2005)
12, 814-821). Here, I will present the fi rst atomistic model for hGHR activation using molecular
dynamics simulations. The simulations show that after removing hGH from its complex with a
dimeric hGHR, the receptor subunits exhibit a relaxation involving a relative rotation of the two
subunits. We also fi nd new interaction interfaces between the subunits in both the cytokine-bound
and unliganded hGHR states. The results from the simulations bring new perspectives on the
mechanism of transduction of the signal through the plasma membrane from the extracellular to
the intracellular domains of cytokine receptors related to hGHR.


Hosted by M. Field (IBS)


Structure du transporteur membranaire FhaC : une première incursion dans la superfamille Omp85/TpsB

by Vincent Villeret (Institut de Biologie, LILLE)

IBS Seminar
poster

hosted by Christine Ebel


Injectable Hyaluronan Gels Forms Bone In Vivo

By Prof. Jöns Hilborn, Uppsala, Sweden.

ILL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room



New developments in mosflm and imosflm

By Harry Powell, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology,Cambridge, UK.

ILL seminar

ILL4 Seminar Room 125


see Abstract


“Looking at macromolecular structures and dynamics with Single Molecule Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (smFRET)â€

By Emmanuel Margeat (CBM, Montpellier)

ESRF seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) allows measuring the distance between two spectrally distinct fluorophores, in the 20-100 Å range. When monitored at the single molecule level, smFRET is useful in resolving subpopulations, or observing conformational changes as a function of time within single macromolecular complexes in vitro. I will describe here the methodologies used to label proteins and nucleic acids with fluorescent dyes, and measure FRET accurately on the labelled complexes, freely diffusing in solution or immobilized on surfaces. I will focus on the study of complexes involved in prokaryotic transcription initiation and termination (helicases and polymerases). Finally, I will discuss how information gathered from smFRET experiments could be used to complement other high- or low-resolution methods in structural biology.

single-molecule biophysics at Montpellier


Thesis defense by Marcello Clerici

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre



Modular Protein Architecture: Native Disorder and Linear Motifs in Cell Regulation

By Toby Gibson (EMBL Heidelberg)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room


see Toby Gibson webpage


Searching for biotechnologically relevant, oxygen-resistant, hydrogenases: the electrochemical approach

By Juan-Carlos Fontecilla-Camps

CIBB seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


Juan Fontecilla’ lab

Global warming and the progressive depletion of fossil fuels has led the financing agencies of developed countries to promote “clean energy vector†research. Consequently, there has been a renewed interest in this field. One possibility is the generation of molecular hydrogen from solar energy. There are basically two options to generate H2 from the Sun: photovoltaic cells and micro-organisms. Anaerobic microbes can generate hydrogen through fermentation of biomass and photosynthesis. In both cases, they use oxygen-sensitive enzymes called hydrogenases that catalyze the following reversible reaction: 2H+ + 2e- = H2. Over the last decade, we have solved the three-dimensional structures of representatives of the two classes of hydrogenases present in sulfate-reducing bacteria. These studies have revealed complex buried organometallic active sites, connected to the molecular surface by hydrophobic channels. Recently, site-directed mutagenesis based on hydrogenase structures has been used to try to obtain oxygen-resistant enzymes in order to couple hydrogen production to photosynthesis. An alternative approach has been the search for naturally oxygen-resistant enzymes present in aerophilic micro-organisms.
One effective way of probing hydrogenases for oxygen resistant is electro-chemistry. The enzyme is adsorbed onto a graphite electrode and current production in the presence of H2 is studied as a function of changing potentials. The effect of other gases, such as O2 and CO can then be studied. This approach also leads to the use of hydrogenase in bio-fuel cells.
During my talk I will address these different aspects of hydrogenase research.


Glycosaminoglycanes : structures, fonctions, régulation

By Romain Vives

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room


abstract

Protein-Protein Interactions at the Microtubule Plus-End: a Structural Perspective

By Michael Plevin (LRMN/ IBS)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar room



Structural biology of the myelin sheath

By P. Kursula (University of Oulu, Finland)

ILL seminar

CIBB seminar Room


The myelin sheath, a multilayered membrane structure wrapped around the
axons, allows for the rapid transmission of nerve impulses in vertebrates. Several nervous system diseases are linked to deficiencies in myelin formation and structure. Biochemically, the myelin membrane is unique, and it contains several proteins not found in other tissues. However, relatively little is known about the structural properties of myelin-specific proteins and their complexes with ligands. We aim at obtaining a better understanding of the myelin sheath via detailed structural and biochemical studies on its protein components.


Glycosaminoglycans as Polyelectrolytes: How proteins see polyelectrolytes

By Paul Dubin (University of Massachusetts, Amherst)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room



hosted by C. Ebel (LBM/IBS)


Relaxation dynamics of the IF6 protein from Methanococcus Jannashii. A molecular simulation and neutron scattering combined approach.

Paolo Calligari, École Normale Superieure,Paris, France.

ILL seminar

CIBB seminar Room



organised by ILL College-8


NSLS-II, a Bright New Synchrotron Source at Brookhaven

By Wayne Hendrickson, Columbia University (USA)

ESRF Seminar

ESRF Auditorium, Central Building


Coffee will be served at 3.30 pm in the entrance hall on the ground floor of the Central Building


hosted by Sine Larsen (ESRF)


Influenza virus Polymerase

By Rob ruigrok (UVHCI)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room


Influenza virus is a serious disease that affects and kills many people every winter. There exist only a few drugs against the virus and drug resistance is a significant problem. In order to determine new drug targets, research into the structure and function of the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase was necessary. The polymerase consists of 3 subunits; the real polymerase subunit PB1, the PB2 subunit that is involved in “Cap-snatching†necessary for the production of viral mRNAs and the PA subunit for which no function was known.
Until 2007 no structural information on the polymerase was known apart from a low-resolution EM 3-D reconstruction. In collaboration with the groups of Darren Hart and Stephen Cusack, and also with the NMR group of IBS, a major effort has now led to the structures of 3 domains of PB2 and one domain of PA. The structure of another domain of PA was determined by Chinese and Japanese groups. The structures and the functions of all domains will be discussed. The structures have also shed light on some of the mutations that occur when avian influenza virus adapts to humans.

 The cap-snatching endonuclease of influenza virus polymerase resides in the PA subunit. (2009) Nature Dias A, Bouvier D, Crépin T, McCarthy AA, Hart DJ, Baudin F, Cusack S, Ruigrok RW.
 Host determinant residue lysine 627 lies on the surface of a discrete, folded domain of influenza virus polymerase PB2 subunit. (2008) PLoS Pathog. Tarendeau F, Crepin T, Guilligay D, Ruigrok RW, Cusack S, Hart DJ.
 The structural basis for cap binding by influenza virus polymerase subunit PB2. (2008) Nat Struct Mol Biol. Guilligay D, Tarendeau F, Resa-Infante P, Coloma R, Crepin T, Sehr P, Lewis J, Ruigrok RW, Ortin J, Hart DJ, Cusack S.
 Structure and nuclear import function of the C-terminal domain of influenza virus polymerase PB2 subunit. (2007) Nat Struct Mol Biol. Tarendeau F, Boudet J, Guilligay D, Mas PJ, Bougault CM, Boulo S, Baudin F, Ruigrok RW, Daigle N, Ellenberg J, Cusack S, Simorre JP, Hart DJ.


Structural and functional studies of Photosystem II from a trans-plastomic strain of Nicotiana tabacum

By Dario PIANO International institute of Molecular Biology

ESRF Seminar

Room 337, ESRF Central Building


Photosystem II (PSII) is a membrane protein complex involved in the process of oxygenic photosynthesis. PSII has a double function: the oxidation of the water molecule delivering molecular oxygen and the harvesting of light converting the photonic energy trough the equivalent excitonic form into chemical energy. In green organisms the coordination of these two PSII functions and the functional integration of the PSII activity with the other thylakoid membrane protein complexes results in the ability of energy conversion and chemical energy accumulation delivering oxygen as a secondary product. Currently several high resolution structures of PSII from cyanobacteria are available but none from green algae and higher plants has been described. Several lines of evidence suggest not only similarities but also important differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic PSII especially regarding the processes of photo-protection and of excitonic energy transfer. Furthermore the process that, via the Oxygen Evolving Complex, is responsible for the splitting of the water molecule delivering oxygen, is in general still not completely understood.

In this short speech I will report a new approach for the purification, characterization and crystallization of PSII from a transplastomic strain on Nicotiana tabacum.


Etudes des voies de signalisation impliquées dans la phagocytose des cellules apoptotiques : état d’avancement

By Jean-Baptiste Reiser (LCCP)

IBS Seminar

IBS seminar room


Nous développons un nouveau projet depuis début 2006 au PSB et àl’IBS : Nous nous intéressons tout particulièrement au processus de phagocytose des cellules apoptotiques effectué par un certain nombre de cellules de l’immunité et aux voies de signalisation qui mènent aux modifications dynamiques du cytosquelette d’actine au cours de ce processus.
Les cellules apoptotiques créent de très nombreux déchets cellulaires (plusieurs milliards par jour) pouvant provoquer des réactions inflammatoires. Il est donc essentiel que ces corps apoptotiques soient internalisés par les cellules phagocytaires de l’organisme et déclenchent en parallèle des mécanismes anti-inflammatoires. Les cellules apoptotiques présentent àleur surface des structures moléculaires particulières qui sont reconnues par les récepteurs du phagocyte, soit directement, soit par l’intermédiaire de molécules aidant àla reconnaissance (Complément, anticorps, …). Ces interactions, déjàlargement étudié àl’IBS (LEM – équipe de G. Arlaud) sont la clef du déclenchement des réactions anti-inflammatoires et du remodelage du cytosquelette d’actine conduisant àl’internalisation. Toutefois, les molécules et les bases moléculaires et structurales impliquées dans les processus de signalisation sont très mal connues àl’heure actuelle.
Récemment, un tandem de protéines multi-domaine, le couple ELMO/DOCK, a été identifié comme un effecteur clef des voies de signalisation initiant l’ingestion des cellules apoptotiques par les phagocytes. Ce complexe est un nouveau type de Facteur d’Echange de Guanine (GEF) capable d’activer la GTPase Rac1 qui conduit au remodelage du cytosquelette d’Actine.
A l’heure actuelle, les quelques données disponibles sur le fonctionnement de ce complexe et de ses partenaire au niveau cellulaire et structural sont très élusives.
Depuis 3 ans, nous avons entrepris l’étude par la combinaison d’approches cellulaires et fonctionnelles, de biologie moléculaire et de biochimie ainsi que différentes approches de biologie structurale. Lors de mon exposé orienté comme un rapport d’avancement, j’aborderai les différentes techniques et difficultés que nous rencontrons ainsi que les différentes pistes de recherche sur lesquelles nous nous engageons


Structure Based Drug Design in the Pharmaceutical Industry

By Alexander Pautsch (Boehringer Ingelheim Pharma GmbH & Co. KG)

IBS Seminar

IBS seminar Room


The talk will describe the role of protein crystallography in the pharmaceutical drug discovery process. I will cover:
 molecular basis of drug action
 overview of the pharmaceutical drug discovery & development process
 goals for structural research in a pharmaceutical project
 structure-based hit validation
 optimization of molecular interactions
 the structure-based drug design cycle
 fragment based screening


MD2 Development at NE-CAT Microcrystallography Beamlines at the APS.

By Malcolm Capel, Argonne National Laboratory (USA)

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar Room



EMBL interview

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar Room


 9:30 to 9:35
Methods for simultaneous X-ray diffraction studies on mutliple single crystals and absorbed dose calculations for macromolecular crystals -
by Karthik Paithankar
 09:35 to 10:10
Solving a novel protein structure by sulphur SAD
by Cristofer Enroth
 10:30 to 11:05
Getting RIPped with Radiation Damage
by Max Nanao
 11:05 to 11:40
Title forthcoming
by G. Natrajan


Comparative Genomics and Gene Regulation in Drosophila

By Alexander Stark (IMP, Vienna)

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar Room



The Salty Side of Survival: Examinations of the Stress Response in /Halobacterium salinarum/ NRC-1

By Adrienne Kish (Carnegie Institution of Washington, USA)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room



La spectrométrie de masse pour les protéines membranaires : un amour impossible ?

By Sandrine Sagan (Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room



Exploring the configurational and free energy landscape of biomolecules and soft condensed matter systems under extreme pressure conditions

By Roland WINTER (TU Dortmund, Germany)

ILL seminar

 CIBB seminar room

Lipid bilayers, which provide valuable model systems for biomembranes, display a variety of polymorphic phases, depending on their molecular structure and environmental conditions, such as pH, ionic strength, temperature and pressure. By using calorimetric, spectroscopic and diffraction techniques, the temperature and pressure dependent structure and phase behavior of lipid systems, differing in chain configuration and headgroup structure has been studied. Moreover, neutron small-angle scattering and two-photon excited fluorescence microscopy have been used to study the lateral organization of phase-separated lipid membranes and raft mixtures as well as the influence of peptide and protein incorporation on membrane structure and dynamics, also under high pressure conditions. Furthermore, we discuss pressure as a kinetic variable. Applying the pressure-jump relaxation technique in combination with time-resolved synchrotron X-ray diffraction, the kinetics of various lipid mesophase phase transformations was investigated, including studies of membrane fusion processes. The technique has also been applied for studying polymer phase transitions and protein folding reactions. We present data on the pressure-induced un/refolding of proteins using small-angle scattering and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, which monitor changes in the tertiary and secondary structural properties of the proteins upon pressurization or depressurization. A thermodynamic approach is introduced for determining the stability of proteins as a function of both temperature and pressure and express it as a three-dimensional free energy surface. By combining small-angle scattering with liquid state theoretical approaches, also the effects of molecular crowding and pressure on the intermolecular interaction potential and solvational properties of proteins has been investigated. Finally, recent advances in using pressure for studying misfolding and aggregation (amyloidogenesis) of proteins will be discussed.


Structure-based design of receptor and enzyme modulators : two case studies in drug discovery and chemical biology

by Benoît DEPREZ (INSERM, Lille)

IAB seminar

 salle de conference de l’IAB


The use of SiCSA in probing the cell-specific accumulation of elements in plant leaves...aka..There and back again.

By Simon Conn (University of Adelaide, Australia)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Specific Saccharide Interactions in Membranes containing LewisX Lipids Investigated by Neutron Scattering

Emanuel SCHNECK (University of Heidelberg, Germany)

ILL Seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

 External visitors may ask for a site access to Karine Sultan (sultan@ill.fr).

Abstract


How to speed up your crystallization refinement experiments with Formulator

By Hans van Beek, Formulatrix

CIBB seminar room


The formulator machine has been specifically designed to speed up the production of crystallisation refinement screens.

This machine will be available at the CIBB next Tuesday and Wednesday.
If you are interested in testing it yourself please contact Jose A Marquez (EMBL)


Prospects for Science at the SNS

by Dean Myles, Director of Neutron Scattering Science Division, ORNL, USA

ILL Seminar

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre



Cibler les différentes zones àla surface des sous-unités de la protéine kinase CK2

by Renaud Prudent (IRTSV, CEA Grenoble)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room



New Class of Bohr groups in human Hemoglobin identified by Time-of-flight Neutron diffraction

By Dr A. Y. Kovalevsky (Los Alamos National Laboratory, USA)

ILL seminar

CIBB Seminar room



Titanium alloys for nuclear and biomedical applications

By Dr Geetha Manivasagam, VIT University, Vellore, Tamil Nadu, India.

ILL seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


Abstract


“L’invasion des cellules hôtes par les Apicomplexes “Plasmodium“ et “Toxoplasma“: une coopération optimale entre les 2 partenaires“

By Isabelle TARDIEUX (Institut Cochin, Mobilité et Invasion cellulaire, Paris)

External Seminar

Institut Jean Roget (Grenoble)


salle de conference, 5ème ét.,
Domaine de la Merci,
La Tronche

Contact: C.Bisanz : 04.76.63.74.74


Mechanistic Studies of Photoactivatable Fluorescent Proteins: A Combined Approach by Crystallography and Spectroscopy

By Virgile Adam

phD thesis defense

ESRF Auditorium


Since the discovery of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) in 1962, many developments allowed improving the use of this naturally light-emitting protein as a powerful tool for tracking proteins or organelles of interest within living cells and organisms. At the beginning of the 21st century, the discovery of photoactivatable fluorescent proteins (PAFPs), notably from Anthozoan species, triggered a revolution in the field of FP technology. Some PAFPs are capable of being irreversibly photoconverted from a green- to a red-emitting form while other ones can be reversibly switched on and off, depending on specific excitation wavelengths. These proteins are being extensively used in optical microscopy techniques, particularly in “nanoscopy†, which provides optical resolution 10 fold beyond the theoretical Abbe limit. In order to further develop these techniques, notably in term of time-resolution, the need to obtain brighter fluorescent probes that photoconvert or photoswitch efficiently is crucial. At the same time, fluorescent highlighters generally need to be monomeric and photostable. In order to better understand the mechanisms of phototransformations in PAFPs, three members of the family have been studied: EosFP, Dendra2 and IrisFP. The phenomena of green-to-red photoconversion, reversible photoswitching and non-reversible photobleaching have been studied by a combination of X-ray crystallography and microspectrophotometry using the Cryobench laboratory of the ESRF/IBS. Together, the results have allowed us to propose a mechanism for the photoconversion of EosFP and Dendra2 and to discover and characterize IrisFP, the first PAFP combining both properties of photoconversion and photoswitching. The structural modifications of the chromophore associated with an X-ray induced radical state, likely to be involved in the photobleaching pathway of PAFPs, were also characterized.


Regulation of cell motility and energy metabolism by protein acetylation

By Minoru Yoshida (RIKEN Advanced Science Institute, Japan)

Institut Albert Bonniot

Institut Albert Bonniot



L-Asparaginases, their friends and relations

By Mariusz Jaskolski. Department of Crystallography, A. Mickiewicz University, Poznan, Poland

CIBB Seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


L-Asparaginases hydrolyze L-asparagine to L-aspartate and ammonia. However, due to posttranslational modifications of asparagine (glycosylation, isomerization to beta-aspartyl residues), specialized enzymes are required for the hydrolysis of the beta-amide bond in the general scheme of asparagine metabolism. In E. coli, there are two classic L-asparaginases. The homotetrameric periplasmic enzyme (EcAII), but not the homodimeric EcAI found in the cytoplasm, is a potent antileukemic agent. In plants, L-asparaginases are essential for nitrogen circulation. There are two types of plant asparaginases, with or without potassium dependence. E. coli expresses a protein (EcAIII) with intriguing sequence similarity to the plant enzymes. It is structurally unrelated to the classic bacterial enzymes but belongs to the family of N-terminal nucleophile (Ntn) hydrolases. We have shown that EcAIII and its yellow lupine homolog (LlA) are more active as isoaspartyl aminopeptidases. This dual activity is important in seeds where efficient supply of nitrogen is necessary during the synthesis of storage proteins and for the removal of toxic beta-aspartyl protein aberrations. The crystal structures of LlA and EcAIII show (alpha/beta)2 heterotetramers composed of alpha and beta subunits generated on autoproteolytic activation, which liberates a Thr nucleophile at the N-terminus of subunit beta. A sodium-binding loop with conserved main-chain coordination is necessary for proper positioning of all components of the active site. Despite sequence homology and structural similarity to human and bacterial aspartylglucosaminidases, LlA and EcAIII are unable to hydrolyze glycosylated asparagine. Unexpectedly, the structure of the plant-type enzymes bears resemblance to threonine aspartase (taspase), which hydrolyzes the alpha-peptide bonds of two Asp-Gly peptides of MLL, a protein implicated in some human leukemias. There are several unclear aspects of the catalytic mechanism of Ntn-hydrolases in general and plant-type L-asparaginases in particular. They are especially puzzling with respect to the autoproteolytic activation event, in which the same catalytic Thr residue is supposed to carry out the reaction before the active site is actually formed as a result of this reaction. We have generated and crystallized an inactive Thr -> Ala mutant of EcAIII which is unable to cleave itself and remains in the single-chain precursor form. The mutant is also not cleaved in the presence of catalytic amounts of active EcAIII, demonstrating the cis character of the autoproteolytic activation. Comparisons of the crystal structures of the mutant protein and the active enzyme (i) demonstrate the spatial relation and stereochemical requirements of the two catalytic processes, (ii) reveal a dual role of the sodium-coordinating loop, and (iii) indicate two different oxyanion hole areas. There are also interesting implications regarding the identification of a general-base residue supposed to activate the Thr nucleophile.


hosted By Dominique Housset (IBS)


NMR of large biomolecular assemblies

By Jerome boisbouvier (IBS)

CIBB seminar

CIBB seminar room


Recent progress in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and advancements in specific isotope labelling have enabled the high resolution structure determination of biomolecular complexes as well as the studies of challenging interactions in high molecular weight assemblies (up to 1 Mda). These latest developments made at PSB will be presented and illustrated with application to HIV and HCV RNA complexes, large biological machineries involved in microRNAs processing and protein quality control.


The photochromic protein Dronpa : mechanism and application in superresolution microscopy

By Johan HOFKENS (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room



“Traitement des interactions électrostatiques dans les systèmes moléculaires – Etude par simulation numérique des protéines fluorescentes

By Mickael LELIMOUSIN (IBS/LDM)

IBS PhD Defense

IBS seminar Room



Immunology at the nanometer scale: conformational changes as regulators of complement activation

By Thomas Vorup-Jensen (University of Aarhus, Denmark)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room



hosted by Nicole Thielens (IBS)


Nanoparticules et santé au travail: Une problématique nouvelle?

By Daniel Bloch Conseiller Médical du CEA pour les nanomatériaux

Séminaire de la Fondation Nanosciences

Amphithéâtre 15 de l’école PHELMA – Polygone


more information on the talk and speaker


The interaction between the vesicle trafficking regulator protein Munc18c and its SNARE partner Syntaxin4: an open and shut case?

By Jenny Martin (Brisbane, Australia)

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar room



hosted by Andrew Mc Carthy (EMBL)


Etudes structurales du mécanisme de fluorescence de trois protéines photosynthétiques ou d’intérêt biotechnologique

By Antoine Royant (IBS)

IBS Seminar

IBS seminar room


La plupart des protéines sont (faiblement) fluorescentes grâce aux tryptophanes qui tiennent lieu de chromophores, et dont les propriétés de fluorescence sont contrôlées par les interactions avec l’environnement protéique. Ces propriétés de fluorescence sont exaltées dans un petit nombre de protéines qui incorporent des chromophores exogènes (chlorophylle, hème) ou endogènes (acides aminés cyclisés). Dans cet exposé, nous montrerons comment l’étude structurale d’une protéine par cristallographie aux rayons X couplée àdes méthodes complémentaires (spectroscopie de fluorescence, simulation par dynamique moléculaire) permet de progresser dans la compréhension du mécanisme de fluorescence. En particulier, l’antenne collectrice de lumière LHC-II de plante est une protéine photosynthétique localisée dans les membranes des thylakoïdes, rendue fluorescente par ses molécules de chlorophylle. Nous avons cherché àcomprendre dans quelle mesure le contrôle des propriétés de fluorescence était déterminant pour l’efficacité de l’activité photosynthétique. D’autre part, les protéines fluorescentes cyan dérivées de la GFP sont très utilisées en biologie cellulaire pour la mesure d’interactions protéines-protéines par FRET. Nous avons mis en évidence comment les interactions hydrophobes du chromophore avec son environnement contrôlent le niveau de fluorescence de ces protéines. Enfin, en nous basant sur la structure cristallographique d’un phytochrome de D. radiodurans, nous avons fait évoluer un fragment de la protéine par mutagenèse dirigée pour détourner ses propriétés de transduction de signal en propriétés de fluorescence dans l’infrarouge, et obtenir ainsi un marqueur codé génétiquement utile pour l’imagerie du corps entier.


Binding and Catalysis by Cdc25 Protein Tyrosine Phosphatases

By Guilherme Menegon Arantes (University of Sao Paulo - Brazil)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room


Cdc25 phosphatases are key regulators of cell-cycle check-points. This talk will first present computer simulations for the dephosphorylation reaction of Cdc25B with its natural substrate, the Cdk2-pTpY/CycA protein complex. Then, the talk will present small-molecule binding to an ensemble of Cdc25B conformations, generated with a coarse-grained model of the protein backbone. Formerly unknown binding modes that may uncover the mechanism of inhibition are proposed. Structural characteristics previously treated as artifacts in analysis of x-ray crystallography data are suggested as features of the thermal ensemble.


Hosted by Martin Field (IBS/LDM)


Chemokines therapies: from technology and back to evolution

By Amanda Proudfoot (Merck Serono Geneva Research Centre, Switzerland)

IBS Seminar

IBS seminar room


Inappropriate cell recruitment is a hallmark of all autoimmune, allergic and inflammatory diseases. The prevention of inflammation by interfering with cellular recruitment by neutralization of cytokines and adhesion molecules has proven to be successful in the clinic. Chemokines are important potential targets due to the central role they play in the cell recruitment process. Chemokines are unique amongst cytokines as they signal through 7 transmembrane (7TM) receptors, allowing the identification of small molecule inhibitors through high throughput screening. The object of this presentation is to discuss the validity and feasibility of targeting several points of therapeutic intervention offered by the chemokine system, and to assess the state of play within the field to date. Although some trials disappointingly did not achieve their goal, nature has devised strategies to inhibit the chemokine system highlighting the relevancy of these targets.
Blood sucking parasites such as ticks feed for extended periods on their hosts without eliciting an immune response. They secrete a battery of anti-coagulant, anti-pain and anti-inflammatory molecules in their saliva in order to remain undetected by the host. We have confirmed the presence of anti-chemokine activity in tick saliva and have cloned three distinct chemokine binding proteins from a cDNA library constructed from tick salivary glands, which we have named Evasins. As opposed to viral chemokine binding proteins which have very broad specificities, the Evasins are highly selective. We have characterized them both in vitro and in vivo, where they show potent anti-inflammatory activities. We have solved the structure of two of these proteins which display novel folds with no homologues in the PDB database. These surprisingly small proteins, smaller than the single chain nanobodies or camelids, provide novel scaffolds for anti-inflammatory binding proteins.


Hosted by H. Lortat-Jacob (IBS)


“The Sec translocon, Syd, Nanodiscs and membrane permeabilityâ€

By Franck Duong (University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room


Secretory and membrane proteins are transported through a conserved
heterotrimeric membrane-bound protein complex, the Sec61 or SecY complex.
In bacteria, the SecY complex provides a membrane channel that opens in
response to the binding of preprotein substrate and the SecA ATPase. The
questions addressed in my laboratory concern the stoichiometry of the
complex with the motor protein, the ionic (im)permeability of the channel
during preprotein transport, and the control of the SecY biogenesis by the
protein Syd. We reconstitute these interactions using Nanodiscs,
water-soluble particles that mimic a small patch patch of membrane lipid
bilayer.


Hosted By Christiane Schaffitzel (EMBL/UVHCI)


Co-translational Protein Translocation

By Christiane Schaffitzel (EMBL/UVHCI)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room
Protein translocation across membranes is a pathway of utmost biological importance. The canonical pathway of protein translocation and membrane insertion is facilitated by SecYEG or Sec61 in bacteria or eukaryotes, respectively. Besides this canonical family of protein-conducting channels, the YidC/Oxa1/Alb3 family is involved in the co-translational membrane insertion of specific proteins in prokaryotes, mitochondria and chloroplasts.
We solved the structures of SecYEG (1) and of YidC (2) bound to ribosome-nascent peptide complexes by cryo-EM. Importantly, both SecYEG and YidC form dimers on the ribosome. Although both families are not homologues, they share a common overall architecture. In bacteria, SecYEG and YidC are part of the holo-translocon which is responsible for insertion, folding and assembly of membrane proteins. Recently, we succeeded for the first time to express and purify this six membered membrane protein complex (3).

References:
1.Mitra, K., Schaffitzel, C., et al. (2005) Structure of the E. coli protein-conducting channel bound to a translating ribosome. Nature 438, 318-324.
2.Kohler, R. et al. (2009) YidC and Oxa1 form dimeric insertion pores on the translating ribosome. Mol. Cell 34, 344-353.
3.Bieniossek, C. et al. (2009) Automated unrestricted multigene recombineering for multiprotein complex production. Nat. Methods 6, 447-450.


Synchrotron-based Structural Biology: Nucleic Acids, Anomalous Scattering and a Biosensor.

By Gordon Leonard (ESRF)

HDR Defence

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre.



Neutron scattering signature of DNA fibre melting: a nonlinear lattice dynamics approach

By Nikos Theodorakopoulos (Universität Konstanz, Germany Theoretical and Phys.Chem. Institute, Athens, Greece.

ILL seminar

CIBB Seminar room.


DNA denaturation is known to occur locally (fluctuational “bubble†-like opening of a
cluster of base pairs) or globally (complete separation of the two strands, “melting†).
Both processes can be described in terms of the Peyrard-Bishop-Dauxois (PBD)
model, which is known to provide a valid mesoscopic description of long DNA chains
in the ordered phase in terms of the nonlinear lattice dynamics of a single
(transverse) degree of freedom per base-pair.
The statistical properties of denaturation bubbles have recently been analyzed1 and
shown to reflect the existence of an exact thermodynamic phase transition. A similar
analysis can be performed for (typically larger) clusters of bound base pairs; the latter
give rise to coherent scattering from neutrons.
I will present some data recently obtained2 by neutron diffraction from deuterated
DNA fibers. The data exhibit a very sharp thermodynamic transition, observed for the
first time in fiber samples. I will argue that the basic features of the data can be
understood in terms of the PBD model.


Monoclonal antibodies directed against uranyl ions : characterization and structure of the protein-metal interaction

By Wendy RENIER (CEA Marcoule, Ibeb, SBTN, France)

ESRF seminar

ESRF Common Building, COM 106


for more information contact claudine.romero


Transfer of metallic trace elements from contaminated soils to biological systems

Priscilla POUSCHAT (CEREGE, Univ. Aix-Marseille, France)

ESRF seminar

ESRF Central Building, room 248A


for more information, contact Isabelle Combe


STED Microscopy : focusing on Mitochondria

Stefan JAKOBS (Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry)

Amphi. 15 PHELMA/Minatech


for more information, contact stephanie.monfront


Lipid Nano Particles: a multifunctional platform for diagnostics and therapy

By Patrick Boisseau (LETI)

IBS Seminar

IBS seminar Room



From intracellular transport to cell migration: some aspects of living stochasticity

By Delphine Arcizet (Université Ludwig-Maximilians, Munich)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Living cells exhibit exceptional dynamical properties, caused by the presence of ATP-driven processes. We focus on two aspects of cell-generated stochasticity: the sub-cellular motion of tracer particles, and cell migration. The intracellular transport of cargos proceeds by successive phases of diffusion and active movement along microtubules by the means of dynein and kinesin motors. In living cell microrheology studies, the tracking of single particles is used for mapping such a cytoplasmic transport. We developed an automated and reliable time-resolved algorithm identifying the motility state signatures of colloidal probes engulfed by Dictyostelium discoideum (Dd) cells. It is based on the analysis of the local MSD and directional persistence of the tracer path, and is able to separate the active and passive motion of particles in cells. We analyze the particle motion in terms of a two-state model: this yields the distribution of active and passive state durations as well as the distribution of the state parameters, i.e. the velocity during active phases and the diffusion coefficient of the passive motion. The distribution of active life times is found to decay exponentially with a characteristic time T = 0.65 s. The velocity distribution of active events exhibits several peaks, revealing the signature of a finite number of molecular motors working collectively. In contrast, after depolymerization of the microtubule network, the analyzed paths exhibit no significant active event, proving that active states are due to tracer transport along the microtubules exclusively. On the other hand, migration can be observed on the whole cell level, and the characteristics of cellular motion as a function of the environment can be retrieved. We use microstructured surfaces made of a silicon elastomer (PDMS) as a control substrate to study the influence of the topography on Dd motility. Cell shape, velocity and migration-mode are significantly modified by the presence of micron-scale structures.


hosted by Dominique Bourgeois (IBS)


The SpinXlab, A New Microfluidic Platform for Crystallization Refinement and In-Situ Screening.

By Gregory Werner (SpinX Technologies)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room



hosted by Jose A Marquez (EMBL/UVHCI)


Role of membrane curvature in intracellular trafficking

by Patricia Bassereau (Institut Curie, Paris)

EMBL seminar

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

Similar to proteins, most membrane lipids are transported by carriers (vesicles or tubules) with typical 50-100nm diameters that bud off from a donor membrane. During budding, sorting occurs: some lipids and proteins are selectively incorporated into these transport intermediates. It has been proposed that constituents can be dynamically sorted due to membrane curving during coat formation. In order to test this hypothesis, we have pulled membrane nanotubes from Giant Vesicles (GUV) with a controlled diameter (15-500 nm). We will show that curvature-induced lipid sorting only occurs if the membrane is close to a demixing point. In addition, for these compositions, lipid sorting is further amplified when even a low fraction of lipids is clustered upon cholera toxin binding suggesting that lipid-clustering proteins may play an important role in curvature-induced sorting in biological membranes
Another aspect of the role of curvature in membrane trafficking can be studied with these nanotubes. Dynamin is a protein, which assembles in helical structures around the neck of vesicles during budding and induces fission upon GTP hydrolysis. We will show that dynamin assembly can occur only when the neck diameter is below a threshold value. This curvature-dependent polymerization mechanism guaranties a correct timing for carrier budding.

 Speaker invited by Nicolas Martinelli (PhD Student, UVHCI)


The giant virus Acanthamoeba polyphaga Mimivirus

By Chantal Abergel (Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Marseille)

ESRF seminar

CIBB seminar room
 Mimivirus, a virus infecting amoebae of the acanthamoeba genus, is the prototype member of the Mimiviridae, the latest addition to the family of the nucleocytoplasmic large DNA viruses, already including the Poxviridae, the Iridoviridae, the Asfarviridae, and the Phycodnaviridae. Because of the size of its particle-a fiber-covered icosahedral protein capsid 0.75 microm in diameter-Mimivirus was initially mistaken for a parasitic bacterium. Its 1.2-Mb genome sequence encodes more than 900 proteins, many of them associated with functions never before encountered in a virus, such as four aminoacyl-tRNA synthetases. These findings revived the debate about the origin of DNA viruses and their possible role in the emergence of the eukaryotic nucleus. The recent isolation of a new type of satellite virus, called a virophage, associated with a second strain of Mimivirus, confirmed its unique position within the virus world. Post genomic studies are now in progress slowly shedding some light on the physiology of the most complex virus isolated to date.


Hosted By Laurence Serre


Investigating the role of membrane lipids in bacterial resistance to antimicrobial peptides

By Richard Harvey (King’s College London, UK)

ILL seminar

CIBB seminar Room


Bacteria which form part of our normal microbial flora have evolved a number of
protective measures which ensure their survival against attack by our own antimicrobial
defenses. One such non-specific defense against infection is the presence within mucosa
and skin surfaces of antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). These peptides have generated a
huge amount of interest recently as potential candidates for novel antimicrobial
therapeutics. However, it is thought that a number of bacteria are able to resist the
activity of AMPs through modification their membrane lipids, although the precise
mechanisms by which such resistance is achieved have yet to be elucidated. This talk will
outline the how use of biophysical techniques, including neutron scattering, can help to
shed light upon the role played by modified membrane lipids in bacterial resistance to
AMPs.


Computational methods for analyzing small RNAs and their interaction partners with largescale techniques -

By Philipp Berninger (Biozentrum, University of Basel, Switzerland)

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar room



Protein evolution - a reconstructive approach

By Dan Tawfik (Weizmann Institute of Science, Rehovot, Israel)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 In spite the robustness and perfection of their mechanism of action, proteins posses a remarkable ability to rapidly change and adopt new functions. I will describe experimental work aimed at reproducing the evolution of new proteins in the laboratory, and unraveling their traits of evolvability. Specifically, I will describe how the functional promiscuity of proteins, their conformational plasticity, and their modularity of fold, accelerate their rate of evolution. I will address the issue of neutral (or actually, seemingly neutral) mutations, and neutral networks, as facilitators of protein evolution. Finally, I will address mechanisms for buffering and compensating the deleterious effects of mutations, including compensatory stabilizing mutations and chaperones, that can greatly accelerate the rate of protein evolution


Hosted by Martin Weik (IBS)


The Renewal of the APS, and US activities for Future Light Source developmentsâ€

By J. Murray Gibson (Director of the Advanced Photon Source (APS))

ESRF Seminar

Auditorium - ESRF Central Building


J. Murray Gibson, Director of the Advanced Photon Source (APS), will visit the ESRF and give a talk at 16.00 on “The Renewal of the APS, and US activities for Future Light Source developments†.
 Coffee and tea will be served as of 15.30 hours.

 Advance registration is required by sending an e-mail to Chantal Argoud (argoud@esrf.fr).

 If the number of registered participants exceeds 30 persons, the seminar will be moved into the Auditorium.


Characterization of microstructures using tomographic images

By J. Ohser University of Applied Sciences, Darmstadt

ESRF Seminar

CTRM Control Room
 Abstract and information


Three-dimensional imaging of coronavirus-induced membrane alterations during replication by electron tomography

By Kevin Knoops (University Medical Center - Leiden, The Netherlands)

EMBL Seminar

EMBL Seminar Room
 Positive-strand RNA viruses, a large group including human pathogens
such as SARS-coronavirus (SARS-CoV), replicate in the cytoplasm of
infected host cells. Their replication complexes are commonly
associated with modified host cell membranes. Membrane structures
supporting viral RNA synthesis range from distinct spherular membrane
invaginations to more elaborate webs of packed membranes and vesicles.
Generally, their ultrastructure, morphogenesis, and exact role in viral
replication remain to be defined. Poorly characterized double-membrane
vesicles (DMVs) were previously implicated in SARS-CoV RNA synthesis.
We have now applied electron tomography of cryofixed infected cells for
the three-dimensional imaging of coronavirus-induced membrane
alterations at high resolution. Our analysis defines a unique
reticulovesicular network of modified endoplasmic reticulum that
integrates convoluted membranes, numerous interconnected DMVs (diameter
200-300 nm), and "vesicle packets" apparently arising from DMV merger.
The convoluted membranes were most abundantly immunolabeled for viral
replicase subunits. However, double-stranded RNA, presumably revealing
the site of viral RNA synthesis, mainly localized to the DMV interior.
Since we could not discern a connection between DMV interior and
cytosol, our analysis raises several questions about the mechanism of
DMV formation and the actual site of SARS-CoV RNA synthesis. Our data
document the extensive virus-induced reorganization of host cell
membranes into a network that is used to organize viral replication and
possibly hide replicating RNA from antiviral defense mechanisms.
Together with biochemical studies of the viral enzyme complex, our
ultrastructural description of this "replication network" will aid to
further dissect the early stages of the coronavirus life cycle and its
virus-host interactions.


Hosted by Christiane Schaffitzel (EMBL)


Feedback control of mitosis: a structural perspective

By Andrea Musacchio

EMBL seminar

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre


Hosted By Daniel Panne (EMBL/UVHCI)


Protein NMR Crystallography

By Lyndon Emsley (ENS, Lyon)

PSB Seminar

ESRF Auditorium
Solid-State NMR is a well-established technique for determining structural and dynamic features in molecular systems of modest size. Recently, great progress has been made in the development of methods for NMR applied to the study of solid proteins. This has led to the first complete structure determinations, to studies of dynamics, and to studies of a range of biophysical properties including hydration or ligand binding. We will describe the state of the art in this domain, covering diamagnetic and paramagnetic micro-crystalline proteins, fibrils, and notably recent work on membrane proteins by solid-state NMR.

more information on Lyndon Emsley and on the Centre de Resonance Magnetique Nucleaire

for an entrance badge, please contact in advance Mary-Jane Villot


hosted by Jose A Marquez (EMBL/UVHCI)


La Microscopie Electronique : Applications aux processus cellulaires fondamentaux.

By Emmanuelle Neumann (IBS)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 Abstract


Caractérisation structurale et fonctionnelle des composants du pilus de Streptococcus pneumoniae : vers une meilleure compréhension de la biogenèse des pili

By Clothilde Manzano (IBS)

PhD defense

IBS Seminar Room


Control of Angiogenesis by Heparan Sulphate Proteoglycans.

By Sally Stringer (University of Manchester, UK)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Hosted by H.Lortat-Jacob (IBS)


Structural Studies of Chromatin Remodellers

By Dr Christian Edlich (Cambridge University, UK)

ILL Seminar

CIBB Seminar Room

Abstract


Etudes structurales et fonctionnelles de l’IRES du VHC en association avec le motif de reconnaissance àl’ARN de la sous-unité b du complexe eIF3

By Julien Perard (UVHCI)

PhD defence

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre


Tackling challenging biomolecular systems by NMR

By Thomas Kern (IBS)

PhD defence

IBS Seminar Room


Transcriptional analysis of the Candida albicans cell cycle

By Malcolm Whiteway (BR & McGill University, Montreal, Canada)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room


hosted by Thierry Vernet (IBS)


Chemistry for biology: from bisphosphonates to peptidomimetic antiviral nucleotide analogues

by Charles McKenna (U. Southern California)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

For more information see: chem.usc.edu/faculty/McKenna.html


Structure and Function of Membrane Transporters

By So Iwata (Imperial College London)

PSB Seminar

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

more informations on the So Iwata

Membrane proteins are a supreme example where more effort in structural biology is needed. In spite of their abundance and importance, of over 50,000 protein structures in the Protein Data Bank, only some 190 of these proteins are unique membrane proteins. Membrane transporters form the second largest family among these membrane proteins; it is known that 5-12% of genes in the genomes sequenced to date encode membrane transporters. However, the structure determination of membrane transporters remains extremely challenging; the 3D structures of less than 20 such proteins are known. No structures are known for any mammalian solute carriers, except for the ATP/ ADP exchanger from mitochondria. Functional and structural studies of membrane transporters responsible for the uptake and release of various materials including sugars, amino acids, peptides, drugs and ions are essential to our understanding of how the cells and our bodies work.

I will update our effort on structural and functional studies on mammalian solute carriers and their orthologues including lactose permease (1,2) and hydantoin transporter (3) and their molecular transport mechanisms will be discussed based on the crystal structures.

for an entrance badge, please contact in advance Claudine Romero


Hosted By Sean McSweeney (ESRF)


Nouvelles perspectives sur la régulation de la réponse immunitaire innée antivirale : des mécanismes de reconnaissance àla regulation par les NADPH oxidases

IBS Seminar

by Nathalie Grandvaux (Faculté de Médecine, Département de Biochimie, Université de Montréal)
Host : F. Fieschi (IBS/M &P Group)

IBS seminar room


Tyrosine-kinases bactériennes et biosynthèse des polysaccharides extracellulaires.

By Christophe Grangeasse (Institut de Biologie et Chimie des Protéines, Lyon)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Le suppresseur de tumeur LKB1 : du contrôle de la polarité cellulaire àla morphogenèse de la tête

by Marc Billaud (Centre Léon Bérard, Lyon)

IrTSV seminar

 CEA Amphi Dautreppe

 contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr).
Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Physics of Nerves. The action potential as propagating density pulse

By Thomas Heimburg (University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

IBS seminar

 IBS Seminar Room


hosted by J. Peter (IBS)


Tutorial on DEN refinement

By Gunnar Schroeder (Juelich, Germany)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar Room

Please contact Andrew McCarthy for information


Structural biology and functional studies of emerging RNA virus enzymes: from structural genomics to drug design.

By Bruno Canard (AFMB Marseille)

EMBL/CIBB seminar

 11:00 EMBL seminar Room

additional information on Bruno Canard’s group and activity

Abstract: The diversity of emerging viruses is impressive, yet there are some common themes in their mechanisms of growth and survival in the infected cell, such as viral RNA replication and RNA
capping.
Studying the viral world at large is now possible due to structural genomics methods, and this should greatly help the design of antiviral
molecules targetting RNA viruses which may emerge in the near future.
In this talk, I will present the VIZIER consortium (2005-2009), which has addressed these viral enzymes as potential drug targets. I will
analyse VIZIER main results, success and failures, and present in detail the structural and mechanistic analysis of two enzymes discovered and characterized during the program.


Hosted by Ivan Ivanov (UVHCI/ILL)


Mise en évidence, dans une famille enzymatique, d’un mécanisme adaptatif graduel àde fortes concentrations salines.

By Dominique Madern (IBS)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Structural and Dynamics studies of Membrane Proteins by NMR

By Alain Millon (Université de Toulouse)

CIBB Seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


hosted by Jean-Pierre Simorre (IBS)


The intrinsic structural behaviour of the naturally occurring amino acid and its reflection in their dynamics

By Dr. Heloisa Nunes Bordallo (Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien & Energie, Berlin)

ILL seminar

CIBB Seminar Room


Hosted by the College 8


Dynamique structurale de l’acétylcholinestérase étudiée par cristallographie aux rayons X et par une méthode spectroscopique complémentaire.

By Benoit Sanson (IBS)

PhD defence

IBS seminar Room

Abstract


Using SANS and SAXS to determine the detailed structure of nanodiscs.

By Lise Arleth (University of Copenhagen, Danemark)

ILL Seminar

CIBB Seminar Room

Abstract


Hosted By Jo Zaccai (ILL)


Structural studies of Nurf55 protein: a histone - chaperone and component of Polycomb Repressive Complex 2

By Agnieszka Nowak (EMBL)

PhD defence

EMBL Seminar Room


Seeing hydrogens in Crystal structures: Limitations and possibilities at 0.9Å resolution X-ray structures – why do we still need Neutrons?

By Svetlana Antonyuk (University of Liverpool, UK)

ILL Seminar

CIBB Seminar Room
Abstract


hosted by ILL College 8


Introduction to some projects: channel gating, nanodiscs, and Alzheimer’s

By Dieter Willbold (Forschungszentrum Jülich, Germany)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Minisymposium on "molecular architectures in cell division"

organised by the IBS and EMBL

PSB symposium

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

10:00 - Mechanisms of tubulin assembly and of microtubule destabilizing inhibitors.
 By Marcel Knossow (L.E.B.S. , C.N.R.S. Gif sur Yvette)

11:00 - Bacterial cell wall architecture: strength by design.
 By Simon J. Foster (University of Sheffield, UK)

Organizing committee: Ramesh Pillai (EMBL/UVHCI) Dimitrios Skoufias (IBS) Thierry Vernet (IBS) Andre Zapun (IBS)


Frontiers of Proteomics

By Johan Malmström & Jeroen Krigsveld

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room

 10:00: Molecular anatomies in subcellular proteomics
By Johan Malmström (Department of Immunotechnology, Lund University, Sweden)

 11:00: Divide and conquer: strategies for the analysis of complex proteomes.
By Jeroen Krigsveld (EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany)


PSB Science Day "cellular Imaging in Grenoble"

.

PSB science day

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre 13:300 to 17:30

programme


DNA Photolyase - the other light driven enzyme

By Martin Byrdin (IBS)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room

Abstract


Structural and metal-binding studies of small periplasmic metalloproteins involved in heavy-metal resistance in Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34

By Beate Bersch (IBS)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 The same redox chemistry makes transition metals such as copper both essential in numerous enzymatic reactions and highly toxic for the cell, whenever their concentration exceeds the required intracellular levels. Therefore, all living organisms have developed mechanisms to control intracellular metal concentrations. Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34 is a β-proteobacterium found in industrial biotopes and, because of its adaptation to these harsh environments, became a model system for the study of heavy metal resistance. I will report on the structural and metal-binding studies on two periplasmic protein compounds, most probably involved in periplasmic copper and silver trafficking. The solution structures of apo and Cu(I)-bound CopK were solved using NMR spectroscopy and high-resolution information on its metal-binding site was obtained from X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS). Both techniques demonstrate that Cu(I) is coordinated in a tetrathioether site. I will also report on the C-terminal domain of SilB, a membrane-fusion protein that belongs to the RND system silABC. This 82 residue domain closely ressembles CusF with respect to its primary sequence and to its three-dimensional structure.


Atomistic simulations for complex systems with chemical accuracy

By Markus Meuwly (University of Basel)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room
 With recent advances in both, experiment and computer simulations, it has become possible to investigate the dynamics of small molecules in heterogeneous environments. This is of particular interest because small ligands can be used as an experimental probe to investigate the interior of proteins or other disordered materials.
Atomistic Simulations are an established computational method to investigate gas- and condensed-phase systems. Recent extensions to force fields incorporate more details in capturing electrostatic interactions and allow to more quantitatively understand particular processes. Here, I will describe some of these methods and their use to understand the energetics, [vibrational]spectroscopy and reactions in biological and physico-chemical systems. For myoglobin interacting with diatomic ligands the vibrational spectroscopy of the ligand and its rebinding kinetics are long-standing problems in biophysics which continue to attract the attention of experimentalists and computational chemists. The relationship between spectroscopy and structure is an interesting problem in the physical chemistry of doped ices which play an important role in astrophysics.


hosted by Martin Field (IBS)


Towards a better understanding of DNA repair in the extreme-radiation resistant bacterium D. radiodurans

By Joanna Timmins (ESRF)

IBS seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 DNA damage is a common occurrence that compromises the functional integrity of DNA. Well over 10,000 DNA damages are estimated to occur daily in every human cell. The causative agents of these damages are mainly free radicals, which are normally produced as natural by-products of food metabolism. If damaged DNA is left unrepaired, it generates mutations, replication errors, persistent DNA damage and genomic instability, which ultimately is associated with cancer and aging. DNA repair pathways are ubiquitous and the principles of damage recognition are conserved from bacteria to humans. A better understanding of the mechanisms and principles underlying damage recognition in simple organisms such as bacteria is thus an essential step towards obtaining a complete overview of the more complex human DNA repair systems. I will present our work on the structural and functional characterisation of three of the major DNA repair pathways found in the extreme radiation-resistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans. This Gram-positive eubacterium displays an extraordinary resistance to a wide-range of DNA-damaging agents, such as ionising radiation and desiccation. Ionising radiation induces the most lethal form of DNA damage, namely DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs). Whilst in most species only a few DSBs can be tolerated and repaired, D. radiodurans can withstand and repair over 100 DSBs in its genomic DNA. Initial investigations support the view that the extreme radiation resistance of D. radiodurans is complex and is most likely determined by a combination of factors including genome packing, cell structure and importantly a highly efficient DNA repair machinery.


hosted by B. Franzetti (IBS)


Interesting Discoveries in Natural Product Chemistry at The International Center for Chemical and Biological Sciences

By Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary (University of Karachi, Pakistan)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

link to H.E.J. Research Institute of Chemistry (Univ. of Karachi)

read more about Muhammad Iqbal Choudhary


Decoding of the genetic message by the ribosome

By Venki Ramakrishnan (Cambridge Univ., UK)

PSB Seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

The high resolution structures of the 30S subunit and more recently the entire ribosome have shed light on how the ribosome ensures the fidelity of translation. We will describe our studies on the nature of the recognition of codon-anticodon base pairing by the 30S ribosomal subunit, and how this leads to a series of conformational changes that results in the hydrolysis of GTP by elongation factor Tu, leading to the acceptance of the new amino acyl tRNA for the formation of a peptide bond.


Hosted by Jo Zaccai (ILL)


Chromatin and Transcription

By Tim Richmond (ETH - Zurich) & Yuichiro Tagaki (Univ Indiana, USA)

PSB seminars

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

 10:00 Yuichiro Takagi (USA) :
Mediator of transcription regulation: structure and functional interactions

 11:00 Timothy J. Richmond (Switzerland) :
Structure and Interactions of the Chromatin Remodeling Factor ISW1a

Abstracts


hosted by Imre Berger (EMBL/UVHCI)


Structural and Functional Studies of AMSH Implicated in the Endosomal Sorting Pathway and Enveloped Virus Budding

By Julianna Solomons (UVHCI)

PhD Defence

EMBL Seminar Room


Molecules and Membranes: the shape of things to come

organised by ILL

ILL Symposium

ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

web-page:www.ill.eu/news-events/events/mam2010/

application deadline: 30th November 2009

 Organisers
Guiseppe Zaccaï and Andrew Harrison

 Secretary
Karine Sultan - contact email: mam2010@ill.eu

Flyer


Structural and mechanistic studies of the anaphase promoting complex – a multi-subunit cell cycle regulator

By David Barford (Chester Beatty Lab., London)

EMBL Seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

Structural and mechanistic studies of the anaphase promoting complex – a multi-subunit cell cycle regulator The anaphase promoting complex (APC) is a multi-subunit cullin-RING E3 ubiquitin ligase that regulates progression through the mitotic phase of the cell cycle and controls entry into S phase by catalysing the ubiquitylation of cell cycle regulatory proteins such as cyclin B and securin. Selection of APC/C targets is achieved through recognition of short destruction motifs, predominantly the D-box and KEN-box. The APC is assembled from over 12 individual subunits. Many of the APC,s core proteins comprise multiple repeat motifs whose principle function is to provide a molecular scaffold, but whose exact biological role is not well understood. The best characterised APC subunits are the cullin and RING proteins Apc2 and Apc11 that generate the catalytic centre, and the TPR subunit Apc3/Cdc27 that interacts simultaneously with co-activator and the APC subunit Apc10 (also known as Doc1). Substrate recognition is known to involve a co-activator protein (either Cdc20 or Cdh1) together with core APC subunits, although the structural basis for substrate recognition and ubiquitylation is not understood. We are investigating the structure and mechanism of the APC using a combination of biochemical, crystallographic and electron microscopy approaches. I will describe our recent work, addressing the basis for co-activator dependent substrate recognition based on a 14 Å resolution cryo-EM maps of the APC in complex with co-activator and substrate.

 more about David Barford...


Invited by Eva Kowalinski (EMBL PhD student)


Structural Characterisation of Human Kinases using a Library-Based Construct Screening Approach

By Hayretin Yumerefendi (EMBL/UVHCI)

PhD Defence

 EMBL Seminar Room

Structural characterisation of proteins is often hindered by insufficient
amounts of soluble material. A common approach addressing this problem is to isolate their separate domains, classically done by time-consuming iterations of design, generation and testing of constructs. An alternative approach is to generate a random library of all possible constructs by enzymatic DNA truncation and test them in one experiment for expressionand solubility. In this work, the novel, directed evolution-type method Expression of Soluble Proteins by Random Incremental Truncations (ESPRIT) was used to explore the definition of protein domains. The biological focus was a set of multidomain protein kinases that has previously resisted soluble over-expression and structural characterisation.


Insights into Kinase Regulation and Selective Inhibition by Large Scale Structural Comparison.

By Prof. Stefan Knapp (Structural Genomics Consortium, Oxford)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

more information on Stefan Knapp

Selected Publications:

* Barr, AJ, Ugochukwu, E, Lee, W-H., King, O, Filippakopoulos, P, Alfano, I, Savitsky, P, Burgess-Brown, N, Muller S, Knapp, S (2009). Structural and Functional analysis of the classical protein tyrosine phosphatase family (PTPome). Cell, 136(2):352-26
* Filippakopoulos, P, Kofler, M, Gish, GD, Salah, E, Neudecker, P, Kay, LE, Turk , BE, Pawson, T and Knapp, S. (2008) Structure of the Fps/Fes tyrosine kinase reveals cooperative interactions between the SH2-kinase domains and substrate. Cell, 134(5):793-803.
* Baumli, S., Lolli, G., Lowe, ED., Troiani, S., Rusconi, L., Bullock, AN., Debreczeni, JE., Knapp, S., Johnson LN. (2008). The structure of P-TEFb (cdk9/cyclin T), its complex with flavopiridol and regulation by phosphorylation. EMBO J. 27,(13), 1907-1918.
* Marsden, B.D., and Knapp, S. (2008). Doing more than just the structure-structural genomics in kinase drug discovery. Current Opinion in Chemical Biology, 12, 40-45.


Hosted by Darren Hart (EMBL/UVHCI)


Inhibiteurs anti-Fur et Fur d’Helicobacter pylori

By Sylvia Vitale (IRTSV/CEA)

PhD Defence

 IBS Seminar Room

Le travail de thèse s’est articulé autour de deux axes : l’étude d’inhibiteurs peptidiques anti-Fur et la caractérisation de Fur d’Helicobacter pylori.
Avec l’apparition de souches pathogènes multi résistantes, de nouveaux antibactériens doivent être développés. Le régulateur principal du transport du fer bactérien Fur (Ferric Uptake regulator) est une cible potentielle. En effet, il régule des fonctions essentielles et est spécifique des procaryotes. Quatre aptamères peptidiques (F1 àF4) dirigés contre Fur d’Escherichia coli ont été isolés précédemment au laboratoire. Les aptamères peptidiques sont des protéines combinatoires constituées d’une plate-forme protéique constante dans laquelle est insérée une boucle variable de 13 acides aminés qui constitue la partie active. Les peptides linéaires pF1 àpF4, correspondant aux parties variables de F1 àF4 ont été testés in vitro pour leur capacité àinhiber la liaison de Fur àl’ADN. Des variants mutés et/ou tronqués ont aussi été étudiés. Des tests double hybride chez la levure ont été réalisés afin d’étudier in vivo l’interaction de Fur avec les peptides pF1 àpF4, et l’interaction des aptamères F1 àF4 avec les protéines Fur d’autres souches pathogènes, dont Helicobacter pylori.
H.pylori est une bactérie qui colonise la muqueuse gastrique chez l’homme. La protéine Fur d’H.pylori a été purifiée, elle est nativement un dimère contenant un zinc par sous-unité. Ses propriétés de métallation et de liaison àl’ADN ont été étudiées, et les cystéines impliquées dans la liaison du zinc ont été identifiées. La structure tridimensionnelle du double mutant C78S C150S a été résolue en collaboration avec l’ESRF


Understanding Membrane Protein Insertion & Ion Channel Functionality from Molecular Simulation

By Erik Lindahl (Stockholm University)

PSB Seminar

 IBS Seminar Room

Abstract:Membrane proteins constitute one of the most fascinating classes of biological macromolecules. In a typical genome, roughly 30% of the genes code for proteins associated with membranes, but since these proteins are present on the cell surface they are of extremely high importance efor pharmaceutical applications. Over half of currently available drugs target membrane proteins, and in terms of market value it is close to 80%. Due to difficulties in overexpression and crystallization there are still only a couple of hundred membrane protein structures known, and for this reason sequence-based modeling of membrane proteins has received a lot of attention.

While most transmembrane segments in proteins are clearly hydrophobic, there are surprisingly enough a number of exceptions where marginally stable or even hydrophilic segments appear in the hydrophobic region. Many of these are critically important, for instance the S4 segments of voltage-gated ion channels - it is the charged residues inside these protein that causes the channel to open and close in response to voltages, which we need for every nerve impulse and heart beat. There has been significant debate between experimental results that claim insertion for these is quite cheap, and theoretical calculations claiming it is prohibitively expensive.

We use a fairly wide combination methods to study these systems, ranging from bioinformatics through modeling and molecular simulations all the way to in vitro experiments. I will discuss these methods and talk about recent work where we have shown that the hydrophobicity values derived from experimental insertion is amazingly efficient at predicting insertion, how this can be used to understand (and predict) helix-helix interactions in membranes, and how we now likely can explain the molecular step of the insertion. I will also discuss how this related to some of our very recent results on structural changes in ion channel gating, where the charged S4 residues play a crucial role.

Biography
Erik Lindahl is Associate Professor in Computational Stuctural Biology in the Department of Biochemistry and Biophysics at Stockholm University. The overall goal of his research is use large-scale modeling and simulation techniques to better understand how proteins fold, interact and function, with an emphasis on membrane proteins. Apart from this application work, Erik is a pioneer in the development of high performance biocomputational software. He is one of the co-authors of the widely-used Gromacs simulation program and participates in the folding@home project based at Stanford University.
 More information on Center for biomembrane research and Erik Lindahl research group


Hosted by Martin Field (IBS)


Etudes biochimiques et structurales de DsbA1, DsbA2 et DsbA3 : les trois homologues àl’oxydoréductase de thiol-disulfure DsbA chez Neisseria meningitidis

By Celine Lafaye (IBS)

PhD Defence

 IBS Seminar Room

Abstract


Structural and functional studies of the influenza virus PA subunit.

By Alex Dias (EMBL/UVHCI)

PhD Defence

ILL Amphitheatre


Tryptophan 2,3-dioxygenase and Indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase: structural studies and future prospective

By Chiara BRUCKMANN (University of Helsinki, Finland)

ESRF Seminar

Room 03-1-15, Experimental Hall (ESRF)

Abstract

 PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Hosted By Antoine Royant


Structural Studies on Molecular Recognition in Protein Complexes and Supramolecular Systems

By Rita de ZORZI (University of Trieste, Italy)

ESRF Seminar

Room 337, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

 PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


hosted by Antoine Royant


Haloarchaea and their viruses : life in 3rd Domain.

By Mike Dyall-Smith (Max Planck Institute, Martinsried)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room


Hosted By Bruno Franzetti (IBS)


Resonance Raman spectroscopy of the phytochrome cofactor

By David von STETTEN (Berlin Univ., Germany)

ESRF Seminar

CTRM Control Room

Abstract

 PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Hosted by Antoine Royant


Towards Real-Time Spectroscopy of High Molecular Weight Proteins

By Carlos Amero Tello (IBS)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room

Solution Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy represents a powerful tool to study the structure, function and dynamics of biological molecules. Over the last decade, technological advances and isotope labeling techniques have expanded the range of tractable targets by at least an order of magnitude.
Here we briefly describe the methodological advances that allow NMR spectroscopy of high molecular weight proteins and present the applications of this new methods to the TET2 protein, an aminopeptidase involved in peptide degradation, forming a homododecamer of 468 kDa.


Etudes structurales et fonctionnelles de protéines du virus d’Epstein-Barr: l’enzyme dUTPase et le facteur d’export EB2

By Lucy Freeman (UVHCI)

PhD defence

EMBL Seminar Room


Gènes, environnement et évolution: quand Lamarck conforte Darwin

Vincent DEBAT (Museum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris)

LPSC Conference

Amphithéâtre du LPSC ( 53 rue des Martyrs, Grenoble)

Cette année de double anniversaire (bicentenaire de la naissance de Darwin et de la publication de la philosophe zoologique de Lamarck), est l’occasion de revenir sur les contributions respectives de ces deux naturalistes.
"Selection naturelle" et "hérédité des caractères acquis" : ces deux expressions résument l’opposition entre deux théories évolutives. Si cette opposition doit être relativisée (aucun des deux auteurs ne peut se réduire àces mots), elle a néanmoins marqué la recherche en biologie de ces deux derniers siècles. L’objet de cette communication est de présenter, brièvement, un état de la recherche en biologie de l’évolution centré sur la discipline Evo-Devo (de l’anglais Evolutionary Developmental biology). L’accent sera mis sur les concepts actuels qui remettent l’opposition entre Lamarck et Darwin au goût du jour. Darwin avait bien raison quant au mécanisme fondamental moteur de l’évolution, et Lamarck tort. Pourtant, la synthèse évolutive des années 40 était limitée par un rejet trop systématique de données considérées comme "non orthodoxes" "néo-Lamarckiennes". L’Evo Devo, en intégrant des données écologiques et développementales nous permet de dépasser cette limite. Nous tenterons de montrer que, sans une certaine ironie, c’est en partie grâce àla renaissance de Lamarck que la théorie de Darwin est plus vivante que jamais.


Crystallography in instrument industry : instrumentation, in-house SAD phasing and atomic resolution

By Bram SCHIERBEEK

ESRF Seminar

 room 500 - 501, Central Building

 Abstract


Sean McSweeney (seanmcs@esrf.fr)


Exploring the ‘histone code’ and the small RNA-based processes in the life cycle of the protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii

By Mohamed-Ali Hakimi (Institut Jean Roget, Grenoble)

IAB Seminar

salle de Conférence de l’IAB

The activity state of a gene is determined by a complex regulatory network of co-acting factors (including small RNAs) affecting the structure of the chromatin into which the gene is embedded. The control of gene expression and differentiation are particularly interesting in the parasite model Toxoplasma gondii, as the apparent lack of large families of recognizable transcription factors typically found in other eukaryotic organisms suggests that they may be unusually reliant on epigenetic mechanisms. Based on this hypothesis, our lab and others brought evidences that the parasite possesses a sophisticated ‘histone code’ that rivals those described in higher eukaryotic cells. We showed how active domains in chromatin are established and altered during parasite differentiation by generating high-resolution genome-wide maps of histone modifications using ChIP-on-chip. We confirmed that chromatin regulators make suitable targets for development of therapeutic drugs and dissect how a new histone deacetylase inhibitor is acting on parasites. Finally, we show that the small RNA repertoire of Toxoplasma is exceptionally diverse and includes conspicuous populations of microRNAs, as well as a variety of short interfering RNAs. We are now in a process to delineate the mechanisms by which the parasite genome is silenced through small regulatory RNAs and histone code.


Proteins as Simple as RNA Can Adopt Stable and Specifically Folded Structures

By Dr. Douglas V. Laurents (Madrid, Spain)

CIBB seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

Both proteins and RNAs can form specifically packed and catalytically active structures, but RNAs do so with a limited “alphabet†of only 4 different bases, whereas proteins are made of 20 chemically diverse amino acids. Could a protein form a stable and uniquely folded structure with a set of amino acids as limited as the alphabet of RNA? In this talk, I will describe the characterization of a family of twenty residue peptides called “KIA7†with the sequence:
Ala-Lys-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ala-Ile-Lys-Ala-Ile-Ala-Ala-Ile-Ile-Lys-Ala-Gly-Gly-X where X is an aromatic amino acid. These peptides adopt well folded four helix bundle proteins with a specifically packed core as determined by NMR spectroscopy, even though their composition of amino acids and set of stabilizing interactions is very limited. The stability of the folded four helix bundle structure increases with the size and hydrophobicity of the C-terminal group: KIA7His < KIA7Tyr ≤ KIA7Phe < KIA7Trp. KIA7His is composed of just five different amino acids all of which form under the same set of putative prebiotic Earth conditions. KIA7His, in the presence of certain divalent cations, can specifically cleave RNA hairpins. This suggests that proto-ribonucleases might have co-inhabited and influenced the evolution of the RNA World.


Hosted by Marc Jamin (UVHCI)


Single molecule fluorescence studies of the RNA polymerase II elongation complex

by Joanna Andrecka (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Munich, Germany)

EMBL seminar

EMBL Seminar Room

 Very often, the positions of flexible domains within macromolecules as well as within macromolecular complexes cannot be determined by standard structural biology methods. To overcome this problem, we developed a method that uses probabilistic data analysis to combine single-molecule measurements with X-ray crystallography data. The method determines not only the most likely position of a fluorescent dye molecule attached to the domain but also the complete three-dimensional probability distribution depicting the experimental uncertainty. With this approach, single-pair fluorescence resonance energy transfer measurements can now be used as a quantitative tool for investigating the position and dynamics of flexible domains within macromolecular complexes. We applied this method to find the position of the 5’ end of the nascent RNA exiting transcription elongation complexes of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) RNA polymerase II and studied the influence of transcription factor IIB on the position of the RNA. This work lays the foundation for the development of the fluorescence nano-positioning system.

Nature Methods. 2008 Nov;5(11):965-71
Nucleic Acids Res. 2009 Sep;37(17):5803-9.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Jan 8;105(1):135-40


hosted by Daniel Panne (EMBL)


Evaluation of the pharmacological role of ABC transporters in health and disease

by Gergely Szakacs (Hungarian Academy of Sciences)

IBS Seminar

IBS Seminar Room
 ABC drug transporters play an important role in cancer drug resistance, protection against xenobiotics, and in general in the passage of drugs through cellular and tissue barriers. Characterization of a compound as an ABC transporter substrate or inhibitor bears significant consequences in drug development, the selection of dosing regimens, the anticipation of toxic effects and the potential for drug-drug interactions. The pharmacological relevance of ABC transporters has promoted efforts to establish in vitro systems for testing drug-transporter or drug-drug interactions. The talk will review how the expression and function of human ATP-Binding Cassette (ABC) transporters modulate the pharmacological effects of various drugs, and how this predictable ADME-TOX modulation can be used during the process of drug discovery and development. The use of the in vitro, in vivo, in silico models, their combination, and the emerging clinical information will be evaluated with respect to their potential application in early drug screening.


Recent progress in structure determination of G protein-coupled receptors

By Vadim Cherezov, SCRIPPS, USA

PSB seminar

 IBS seminar room

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR) constitute the largest and a highly diverse family of
integral membrane proteins that transmit signals inside cells in response to a variety of
extracellular stimuli. Strategic location of GPCRs on the cell surface and their participation
in crucial physiological processes turn these proteins into prominent drug targets. Structure
determination of GPCRs remains challenging, and many essential aspects, related to
the mechanism of signal transduction and ligand specificity and selectivity, are poorly
understood.
Here we will present recently determined structures of the human CXCR4 chemokine G
protein-coupled receptor bound to a small molecule and a cyclic peptide antagonists;
and a structure of the dopamine D3 receptor in complex with an antagonist. CXCR4
structures reveal a receptor homodimer and provide insights into chemokine signaling
and HIV-1 recognition. Structural details of the dopamine D3 receptor help to understand
pharmacological specificity between dopamine D2 and D3 receptors.


Host : Valentin Gordeliy (IBS)


CANCELLED: Anion-switchable supramolecular gels for controlling pharmaceutical crystal growth

By Jona Foster (Durham University)

ILL seminar

 seminar room, 1st floor ILL4.

The use of gels as a medium for growing high quality crystals is well established.Furthermore, it has been shown that the gel environment is able to alter the habitof crystals and induce different polymorphs and enantiomorphs compared with thosegrown from solution.

More recently, a new class of gelators has emerged based on low-molecular weight compounds which self assemble into supramolecular networks capable of forming gels.The reversible nature of supramolecular gels can be utilised to allow easy recovery of crystals whilst the diverse array of chemical functionalities that can be introduced allows for tuning of interactions between the gel and growing crystal.

We have demonstrated ‘proof of principle’ for the crystallisation of a wide range of pharmaceutical compounds from a series of bis-urea based gelators in a variety of solvent systems. Addition of TBA-Acetate was found to break down the gels allowing the crystals to be isolated in many cases. A number of differences in crystal habit and polymorphism between crystals grown in gels and from solution were observed. Work is continuing to match the functionality and properties of gelators with crystallisation systems of interest.

J. A. Foster, M-O. M. Piepenbrock, G. O. Lloyd, N. Clarke, J. A. K. Howard and J. W. Steed, Nature Chemistry, 2010, awaiting publication


Hosted by the ILL Students


The role of protein acetylation in complex biological processes: from gene expression to signaling

By Tso-Pang Yao (Duke University, Durham, USA)

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar Room

For the first 30 years since its discovery, reversible protein acetylation has been studied and understood almost exclusively in the context of histone modification and gene transcription. With the discovery of non-histone acetylated proteins and acetylation-modifying enzymes in cellular compartments outside the nucleus, the regulatory potential of reversible acetylation has slowly been recognized in the last decade. Protein acetylation/deacetylation events are involved in a number of important biological processes including cellular differentiation, proliferation, embryonic development and tumor formation. The recent development of new technology has enabled, for the first time, the identification and quantification of the acetylome, acetylation events at the whole-proteome level. These efforts have uncovered a stunning complexity of the acetylome that potentially rivals that of the phosphoproteome. We will discuss the roles of histone deacetylases in signal transduction, their relevance to disease and pharmaceutical targeting.

 Dr Tso-Pang Yao, is Associate Professor in the Department of Pharmacology and Cancer Biology (Duke University). He received his PhD in Biomedical Science (Dr. Ronald Evans’ laboratory) from the Salk Institute, San Diego and was a Postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. David Livingston (Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston).

 References: EMBO J. 2010 Jan 14. Science Signaling 2009; Nov 17 Cancer Res. 2008 Sep 15 Nature. 2007 Jun 14

 more information on Tso-Pang Yao


Hosted by Danielle Desravines (EMBL PhD Student)


Structural Dynamics of Acetycholinesterase

By Jacques-Philippe Colletier (IBS)

IBS Seminar

 IBS Seminar Room

Protein function critically depends on the synergy of structure and dynamics, so-called structural dynamics. This is particularly true for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) that displays a high catalytic turnover despite the buried nature of its active site.
Structural dynamics are not readily accessible to conventional X-ray crystallography. Yet, the advent of third generation synchrotron sources has brought exiting new possibilities to study macromolecular structural dynamics by kinetic crystallography, aiming at the observation of e.g. enzymes in action.
We developed and employed several kinetic-crystallography approaches to gain insight into molecular motions involved in substrate and product traffic within Torpedo californica AChE (TcAChE). As a first step, substrate and product binding within the active site gorge was experimentally elucidated by solving the crystal structures of TcAChE complexed with the substrate acetylthiocholine, the product thiocholine and a non-hydrolysable substrate analogue. Molecular ‘breathing’ motions involving the entire enzyme during product clearance from the active site were identified by a combination of temperature-controlled crystallography and radiolysis or laser-photolysis of precursors of the enzymatic product choline. Taken together, these crystallographic snapshots might be part of a molecular movie showing acetylcholinesterase at work. Multiple MD simulations were used to fill-in the gap between the crystallographically characterized intermediate steps, and were surprisingly able to reproduce all experimental results.
In the future, we plan to use similar methodologies to study other proteins involved in e.g. Alzheimer disease and antibiotic resistance. We will give a brief overview on these new and/or on-going projects.


SEEDS –Fragment Based Drug Discovery powered by INTRACT

by Ismail Moarefi (Science & Technology, CreLux GmbH, Munchen, Germany)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar Room
INTRACT, a novel small molecule assay technology will be presented that enables extremely fast and highly sensitive screening of small molecule fragments in solution. INTRACT is based on measuring minute perturbations in the hydration shell of a target molecule as a consequence of ligand binding. Rapid assay set-up, direct and easy access to accurate information on fragment Kd, binding mode and the straightforward identification of badly behaved aggregating compounds enable informed decision making. In this way only the best, most promising fragment hits from a fragment library screen are being progressed. Together with a proprietary fragment collection, this screening technique forms the core of SEEDS, our fragment based drug discovery service offerings. by Executive Director ,


Tracking the ends: A dynamic protein network controls the fate of microtubule tips

Michel Steinmetz (Paul Scherrer Institute, Villingen, Suisse)

EMBL/IBS seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

Abstract


hosted by Imre Berger (EMBL) and Michael Plevin (IBS)


Functionalised Gold Glyconanoparticles: Ligands for manipulating biological interactions, potential applications and further characterisation

Michael Reynolds (CERMAV, Grenoble)

ESRF Seminar

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Eva Jahn-Feppon tel +33 (0)476 88-26-19.

Requests made by e-mail will be confirmed. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please contact us by phone.


Structure-based discovery of small molecules that modulate the activity of Protein-kinase CK2.

By Claude Cochet (iRTSV, CEA, Grenoble)

CIBB Seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

Many experimental evidence support the view that growth and survival of cancer cells rely on the aberrant activation of several signaling pathways in which protein-kinases play a key role. Therefore, the implication of these enzymes in deregulated signaling pathways together with their susceptibility to small molecule inhibitors make them the first choice for a « Signal Transduction Therapy ».
Protein-kinase CK2 is a pleiotropic, constitutively active Ser/Thr protein-kinase, whose level is unvariably elevated in cancer cells, providing a favourable environnement for tumor progression. Consequently, CK2 has recently emerged as a relevant therapeutic target and its pharmacological inhibition appears as a promissing strategy. To date more than forty crystal structures of CK2 have been deposited in the Protein Data Base establishing a strong basis for the rational design of effective CK2 inhibitors. I will show that similar to other kinases, a number of ATP competitive inhibitors targeting its active site have been identified, some of them exhibiting anti-tumoral activity. Moreover, it has been revealed that the molecular architecture of this multi-subunit enzyme could offer opportunities to develop alternative strategies to inhibit CK2 functions. Using high-throughput and structure-based virtual screening approaches, we have identified different classes of small molecules targeting different surface area such as exosites on CK2a or at the CK2a/CK2b interface.
These exosite-targeting inhibitors promise exciting opportunities by exploiting new mechanisms of action that may allow greater specificity.

References
 Filhol O, Martiel JL, Cochet C. (2004) Protein kinase CK2: A new view of an old molecular complex. EMBO Reports, 5: 351-355 .
 Niefind K, Guerra B, Ermakova I, Issinger OG. (2001) Crystal structure of human protein kinase CK2 : insights into basic properties of the CK2 holoenzyme. EMBO J, 20 : 5320-5331.
 Chantalat L, Leroy D, Filhol O, Nueda A, Benitez MJ, Chambaz EM, Cochet C, Dideberg O.. Crystal structure of the human protein kinase CK2 regulatory subunit reveals its zinc finger-mediated dimerization. EMBO J., 1999, 18, 2930-2940.
 Laudet B, Barette C, Dulery V, Renaudet O, Dumy P, Metz A, Prudent R, Deshiere A, Dideberg O, Filhol O, Cochet C. (2007) Structure-based design of small peptide inhibitors of protein-kinase CK2 subunit interaction. Biochem J, 408: 363-373
 Laudet B, Moucadel V, Prudent R, Filhol O, Wong YS, Royer D, Cochet C. (2008) Identification of chemical inhibitors of Protein-Kinase CK2 subunit interaction. Mol Cell Biochem, 316: 63-69.
 Prudent R, Moucadel V, Laudet B, Barette C, Lafanechère L, Hasenknopf B, Li J, Bareyt S, Lacôte E, Thorimbert S, Malacria M, Gouzerh P, Cochet C. (2008) Identification of Polyoxometalates as nanomolar non-competitive inhibitors of Protein Kinase CK2. Chemistry & Biology, 15: 683-691.
 Prudent R, Cochet C. (2009) New protein kinase CK2 inhibitors: jumping out of the catalytic box. Chemistry & Biology, 16 : 112-120.
 Lopez-Ramos M, Prudent R, Moucadel V, Sautel, C, Barette C, Lafanechère L, Mouawad L, Schmidt F, GriersonD, Florent JC, Filippakopoulos P, Bullock AN, Knapp S, Reiser JP, Cochet C.
New Potent inhibitors of CK2 and Pim kinases : Discovery and Structural Insights. FASEB J. 2010, (in press).


hosted by JB Reiser (IBS)


How many water molecules does a protein need to dance?

By Dr Angel Pineiro (University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain)

ILL Seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room

Throughout evolution, proteins have sought a balance between flexibility and thermal stability, which allows them to achieve their biological function and, at the same time, to preserve a well-defined average structure. As a result, most of functional proteins are not rigid or static objects but experience local and global movements at different timescales. Their environment plays an essential role in this context. In particular, it is well-known that water molecules located in the vicinity of a solute show differences in their organization and hence in their thermodynamic, dynamic, and electrostatic properties, when compared to bulk waters. The water behavior at a molecular level is strongly affected by the presence of cosolvents, and this is also critical for the dynamics of macromolecules. In the middle 1980s, Zaks and Klivanov observed that the catalytic activity of several proteins, when they are suspended in hydrophobic solvents at low water concentration, is comparable or even higher than in aqueous solution. It has been proposed that water acts as a lubricant, forming hydrogen bonds with accessible groups of enzymes and providing them with the flexibility necessary for catalysis. Such explanations are generally accepted although no direct evidence has been provided. The activity of enzymes under those conditions, or when they are trapped in reverse micelles, became more than a curiosity when several biotechnological applications were proposed, taking advantage of this alternative. To date, no experimental technique has been able to provide a detailed structural-dynamics description of this phenomenon. In the present work a comprehensive study of the triosephosphate isomerase from the parasite Trypanosoma cruzi in several water/decane mixtures was performed using molecular dynamics simulations at the time scale of 40 ns. The structure and dynamics of the enzyme, as well as the solvent molecules’ distribution and mobility were analyzed in detail. Our results suggest that the presence of organic solvent molecules located at specific sites of the enzyme accelerates its internal movements, although a minimum number of waters is needed for the protein to keep its structure and dynamics.

 External visitors may ask for a site access to Karine Sultan (sultan@ill.fr).


L’utilisation des tensioactifs fluorés pour la biochimie des protéines membranaires

By Cecile Breyton (IBS)

IBS Seminar

 IBS Seminar Room

Dans le cadre de la manipulation des protéines membranaires en solution aqueuse, les tensioactifs fluorés ont été dessinées comme alternative aux détergents pour être les moins dénaturantes possible, et donc pour maintenir les protéines membranaires en conditions natives sur les grandes plages de temps nécessaires pour les études biochimiques, biophysiques et structurales. L’idée de base est l’introduction d’atomes de fluor dans la chaîne hydrophobe de tensioactifs de structure par ailleurs classique, ce qui diminue leur miscibilité avec les lipides et leur caractère dissociant. Après de longues années de tâtonnements afin d’obtenir une structure chimique compatible avec les exigences des chimistes (simple et pas trop coûteuse àsynthétiser et àpurifier), et du biochimiste (chimiquement défini, stable dans le temps, soluble àsuffisamment haute concentration, cmc relativement basse, formant des micelles monodisperse, et surtout, maintenant en solution sous forme homogène et active les protéines membranaires), nous nous rapprochons de molécules remplissant tous les critères. Alors que l’effet stabilisant de ces molécules a bien été démontré, s’ouvre maintenant la phase d’exploration des différentes applications pour lesquelles les tensioactifs fluorés pourraient spécifiquement être utilisés. Je détaillerai quelques exemples se basant sur des résultats parfois encore préliminaires.


The complex life of small RNA

by Eric Miska (Cambridge Univ, UK)

EMBL Seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room

Our main goal is to understand how cells interpret genetic and
epigenetic information as well as environmental cues to determine
their correct cell fate, i.e. to make the decision to divide, die or
differentiate. For cells to assume their correct fate is essential
for development, epistasis and regeneration of any tissue, organ or
organism. Elucidating the principles and molecular pathways
underlying cell fate decisions is crucial for understanding how
cells become corrupted in disease. The recent discovery of a large
conserved class of small RNA genes, through the study of the control
of developmental timing in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans,
opened up a new and unexpected dimension of gene regulation.
Although we know very little about the biology of these small RNAs,
the few examples that have been studied suggest that these genes are likely to have a major impact in many areas of biology.


hosted by Stefanie Eckhardt (EMBL)


Sensing and signalling in the plant stress response pathway; Molecular mechanisms

By Jose Antonio Marquez (EMBL/UVHCI)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar Room

Our research interest is in understanding the mechanisms of signalling at a structural with a special focus on sensing processes.We have recently obtained the structure of the Abscisic Acid (ABA) receptor, a hormone regulating the response to environmental stress in plants. This receptor belongs to the so called PYR/PYL/RCAR, family and is able to bind ABA and inhibit the activity of specific protein phosphatases of the type 2C PP2Cs leading to the activation of the signalling pathway controlling the stress response. Our work shows how the hormone binds to the receptor and how this binding orchestrates a series of events that lead to the activation of the ABA signalling cascade. This represents the definitive confirmation of the PYR/PYL/RCAR protein family as ABA receptors, providing insights into the basic mechanisms of sensing and signalling. This work also paves the way for the design of small molecules able to activate the ABA pathway and improve the tolerance of crops to drought an other types of environmental stress.


hosted by Martin Blackledge (IBS)


Fateful attraction - When p67phox meets Nox2

By Edgar Pick (Tel Aviv University, Israel)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar room

Abstract


Exploration structurale des canaux ioniques et conséquences pour les mécanismes de fonctionnement

By Jacqueline Gulbis ( Melbourne, Australia)

IBS seminar

IBS seminar Room


Rupture, invasion and inflammatory destruction of the gut by Shigella: the Yin and Yang of innate immunity

by Philippe Sansonetti (Pasteur Institute)

EMBL seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre


hosted by Celeste Sele (UVHCI)


The design of the ESRF Experimental Hall extension

by E. Bruas, F. Lafosse, P. Mackrill, T Marchial and Y. Gouez

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Auditorium

In the summer of 2009, the design of the extension of the ESRF Experimental Hall
started, which is one of three core-deliverables of the ESRF Upgrade Programme.

The "Avant-Projet Sommaire" (APS) is a major project milestone to be completed
in March 2010. It will provide detailed 3-D plans of the buildings both in- and outside
and technical proposals for the building-specific problems of the project. This seminar
will present an overview of the results and details on the proposed solutions for
slab design, heating, ventilation, airco, and electricity, as well as on the risk
management of this project of close to 40 million Euros.


Insect virus polyhedra, infectious protein crystals that contain virus particles

by Peter Metcalf (University of Auckland,New Zealand)

ESRF Seminar

 ESRF Auditorium (to be confirmed)

Larvae infected with insect polyhedrosis viruses become milky white, a result of the formation of masses of intracellular protein crystals. The crystals, or viral polyhedra, consist of a cubic lattice of viral polyhedrin molecules containing thousands of virus particles embedded in the crystalline lattice. Viral polyhedra are remarkably stable, and can remain infectious in soil for years for feeding larvae. Polyhedra survive conditions that would denature most protein molecules, but do dissolve at pH > 10.5 in the mid gut, releasing the embedded virus particles.

We are interested in learning why viral polyhedra are so stable, how they specifically incorporate virus particles inside cells and also in applications e.g. for polyhedra engineered to contain other proteins in place of the embedded virus particles. We developed micro X-ray crystallography techniques to determine the atomic structures of polyhedra produced by the dsRNA virus cypovirus(1) and the DNA virus baculovirus(2), the same virus used in the expression system familiar to molecular biologists. These are amongst the smallest protein crystals ever used for de-novo atomic structure determination. The talk will describe these results, and also our recent work with granulovirus, a type of baculovirus that forms tiny 400nm polyhedra with a crystalline polyhedrin layer only 7 unit cells thick surrounding a single virus particle.

1) The molecular organization of cypovirus polyhedra (2007) Coulibaly F, Chiu E, Ikeda K, Gutmann S, Haebel PW, Schulze-Briese C, Mori H, Metcalf P, Nature. 446, 97-101
2) The atomic structure of baculovirus polyhedra reveals the independent emergence of infectious crystals in DNA and RNA viruses (2009) Coulibaly F, Chiu E, Gutmann S, Rajendran C, Haebel PW, Ikeda K, Mori H, Ward VK, Schulze-Briese C, Metcalf P, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 106, 22205-10

If you need a badge, please contact Claudine Romero


Crystal structure of the cytosolic chaperonin TriC in complex with tubulin

by Guillermo Montoya

EMBL seminar

EMBL seminar Room


hosted by Imre Berger


Structural and functional characterization of heavy metal efflux RND-driven systems from Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34

by Guy Vandenbussche (Univ. Bruxelles, Belgique)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

The tripartite RND-driven (Resistance Nodulation/cell Division) efflux systems of Gram-negative bacteria play an important role in the cellular defence mechanism against toxic compounds including antibiotics and heavy metals. We are studying two RND-driven heavy metal efflux systems from Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34, a β-proteobacterium having an outstanding ability to grow on harsh environments such as heavy metal contaminated sites. Using different in vivo and in vitro approaches, we are characterizing the different components of these transport complexes in terms of structure-function relationship. The information gained from this study will help us to better understand the metal ion transport mechanism


hosted by B. Bersch and J.Covès (IBS)


GENFIT: a software tool for analysing groups of small-angle scattering curves

by Dr. Francesco Spinozzi (Ancona University )

ESRF seminar

ILL4 building - meeting room (doors 126/163) - first floor


Structural studies of virulence factors from the bacterium Helicobacter pylori

By Tommaso Tosi (ESRF)

PhD defence

 ESRF Auditorium, Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


The Metabotropic Glutamate Receptors: allosteric machines for new drugs

By Jean Philippe PIN (Univ Montpellier)

Institut de Neurosciences

 Salle de conférences, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (GIN)
Building. Edmond J. Safra, Chemin Fortune Ferrini CHU, La Tronche. tram stop: Hôpital A. Michallon.

Metabotropic glutamate receptors are GPCRs modulating synaptic transmission either at the pre- or post-synaptic level. They play important roles in the brain, and are the matter of intense research for the discovery of new drugs for the treatment of various psychiatric and neurologic disorders.
Like any other GPCRs, mGluRs possess a 7TM domain responsible for G-protein activation, but the agonist binding site is located in a Venus Flytrap domain (VFT) connected to the 7TM domain via a cystein-rich domain (CRD). Not only are these receptors activated and inhibited by agonists and antagonists, but screening campaigns led to the discovery of highly selective allosteric modulators, either inhibiting or potentiating the action of agonists. The positive allosteric modulators represent an attractive alternative to agonists in drug development.
Within the last years, we have been elucidating the functioning of these receptors at the molecular and structural level, identifying the mechanism of action of both orthosteric and allosteric compounds. Whereas agonists act by stabilizing a closed state of the VFT, positive allosteric modulators stabilize the active state of the 7TM domain. More recently, we identified the mechanism responsible for the allosteric coupling between the VFT and the 7TM domains. We show that the dimeric organization of these receptors is required for function, and that a relative movement of the VFTs is associated with the agonist-induced activation. Then G-protein activation likely requires two important changes in the dimer: a change in conformation in one 7TM, and a change in the relative position of the 7TM domains.
Such a complex functioning of mGluRs offers a number of possibilities to develop new drugs modulating their activity. In collaboration with F Acher (Paris), we are using these information to identify new compounds specifically acting at a specific mGluR subtype, and study its implication in pain (A Eschalier, Clermont-Ferrand) and Parkinson’s disease (M Amalric, Marseille).

 Contact: michel.dewaard@ujf-grenoble.fr


From oriented cell division to organized cell positioning

By Manuel Thery (IrTSV-CEA Grenoble)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar room


hosted by D. Skoufias (IBS)


Proteinase 3, the autoantigen in Wegener’s granulomatosis is a serine-proteinase with multiple functions: implication in vasculitis and inflammatory diseases

By Veronique Witko-Sarsat (Institut Cochin, Paris)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


hosted by P. Frachet (IBS)


How common is life in the universe?

By Juan-Carlos Fontecilla-Camps (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Enveloped viruses: how to get out and get caught ?

By Winfried Weissenhorn (UVHCI)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar room


hosted by T. Vernet


Simulations and scattering: from DNA to membranes

By Franci MERZEL (Ljubljana, Slovenia)

ILL seminar

 Conf. Room 1st Floor, ILL4

 Computer simulation techniques are an important tool for understanding how the dynamics of a biomolecule leads to its function. All-atom simulations, have developed into an indispensable tool to bridge the gap between theory and experiment, as will be illustrated in this talk. In particular, we focus on the interpretation of X-ray and neutron scattering experiments using normal-mode analysis.

In a first example, we concentrate on the low-frequency lattice vibrations of DNA and relate them to the base-pair opening. Next we address the softening effect of the protein dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) dynamics upon ligand binding. Based on the quasiharmonic analysis we are also trying to provide the atomic-level explanation of the salt-concentration dependent aggregation mechanism of amyloid-beta protin fibril. At the end of the talk I will briefly present some simulation results on cholesterol/sphingomyelin bilayers suggesting the formation of a liquid-ordered phase above some critical concentration of cholesterol.


Structural and Computational Studies of Nuclear Receptors

By Igor Polikarpov (University of Sao Paulo, Brazil)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Central Building room 500/501

 PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Hosted by Alexander Popov (ESRF)


Structures and dynamics of weak protein complexes studied with paramagnetic NMR tools

By Marcellus Ubbink (Leiden Institute of Chemistry, Leiden University)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar Room


hosted by M. Blackledge (IBS)


Non-canonical hydrogen bonds in biology: investigating the role of XH/Ï€ interactions in proteins

By Michael Plevin (IBS)

CIBB seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

A variety of weak non-covalent interactions exist in biology. These interactions help stabilise secondary and tertiary structures and make critical contributions to biomolecular function. The focus of this talk will be a class of hydrogen bond-like interactions – so-called XH/π interactions – in which the acceptor group is a delocalised system of sp2-hybridised covalent bonds (e.g. aromatic systems, peptide bonds, etc). XH/π interactions were observed in some of the first macromolecular 3D structures and since then their structural and functional roles have been the subject of much debate. However, despite this long-standing interest, it has proven difficult to experimentally characterise these weak yet important interactions.

XH/Ï€ interactions are ideally suited for analysis by NMR spectroscopy. In particular, NMR spectroscopy has a near unique ability to detect and isolate signals arising from multiple different interactions in the same molecule. This capability can allow the donor and acceptor groups to be directly identified, even in the absence of a 3D structure. Furthermore, as each interaction can be monitored separately, it is possible to experimentally determine the functional or structural contribution of a single interaction. This talk will highlight several such approaches for identifying and characterising biologically-relevant XH/Ï€ interactions in proteins.


Les métalloenzymes àfer-soufre et l’origine de la vie

By Juan Fontecilla (IBS)

IrTsV Seminar

 Amphithéâtre Daniel Dautreppe, CEA Grenoble

On estime que la Terre a 4,5 milliards d’années et que les premiers microorganismes sont apparus environ un milliard d’années plus tard. À cette époque, la composition de l’atmosphère était très différente de celle de maintenant. En effet, le CO2 et le N2 étaient en concentration très importante avec une quantité significative d’H2. Par contre, elle manquait d’O2. Ce gaz est devenu un composant majeur de l’atmosphère uniquement après des éons d’activité photosynthétique par des cyanobactéries. En effet, l’oxygène est un produit secondaire du clivage de l’eau qui a lieu pendant la photosynthèse. Les premiers organismes vivants ont donc évolué dans un milieu anoxique.

Le processus vital dépend principalement de la synthèse de composés carbonés réduits et de leur utilisation pour générer l’énergie nécessaire àla vie. Il y a deux façons de concevoir la génération pré-biotique de ces composés : soit ils ont été synthétisés dans l’espace (ou sur terre par des phénomènes atmosphériques), soit ils ont été synthétisés, entre autre, àpartir de la réduction du CO2 couplée àl’oxydation de l’hydrogène. Ces deux alternatives s’appellent respectivement la théorie « hétérotrophe » et la théorie « autotrophe » de l’origine de la vie sur terre.

Au laboratoire, nous avons déterminé la structure tridimensionnelle de plusieurs enzymes àfer-soufre, purifiées àpartir de microorganismes anaérobies, qui catalysent des réactions « primordiales » telles que l’oxydation de l’H2 ou la réduction du CO2. Nos travaux favorisent la théorie « autotrophe » et sont aussi en accord avec l’idée que ces réactions ont eu lieu sur des sulfures telles que la pyrite (FeS2) ou la pyrrhotite (FeS). Ces différents points seront abordés au cours du séminaire.

Afin de limiter votre attente si vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, contactez Odile Rossignol (tel. : 04 38 78 45 63 Email odile.rossignol@cea.fr) en précisant vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. Une autorisation d’entrée sera établie avant votre arrivée. Les auditeurs étrangers (hors CEE) sont invités àdemander cette autorisation d’entrée au moins une semaine avant la date du séminaire. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


GIANT innovation campus – the transformation of the scientific polygon in Grenoble

By Adrienne Perves (CEA, Grenoble)

CIBB seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

 For an entry badge, please contact villot@embl.fr


Protein powder diffraction - from occasional use to a routine complementary technique ?

By Yves WATIER (ESRF)

ESRF seminar

 Auditorium, Central Building

Abstract


Determination of Protonation States In Proteins Using High Resolution X-ray Crystallography

by Stuart FISHER (ILL)

ESRF seminar

 Auditorium, Central Building

Abstract


Nanostructured Lipid Based Materials as Potential Carrier Systems for Functional Molecules

By Otto Glatter (Department of Chemistry, University of Graz, Austria)

IBS seminar

 IBS Seminar Room

Glycerolmonolinolein (MLO), Glycerolmonoolein (GMO), Phytantriol (PT) and a few other
lipophilic molecules self-assemble in bulk in presence of water to form well defined liquid
crystalline phases. Their structure can be tuned by temperature variation and/or by addition
of oils. This leads to gel-like or fluid systems with a large internal interface between water
and oil domains with different viscosities. These nanostructured phases can be dispersed
in the excess water phase by addition of an external stabilizer and energy input leading
to internally self-assembled particles, so-called ISAsomes. These ISAsomes are potential
carrier systems for hydrophilic, amphiphilic and lipophilic functional molecules.
The hierarchical structure can be extended to a next level by gellifying the continuous
aqueous phase by the addition of polymers like k–Carrageenan. This leads to a new type
of hydrogel, loaded with ISAsomes. Differently to the original oil-continuous bulk phase,
the viscosity of this, now water-continuous, system can be varied in a wide range by
composition. These gels can even be dried into foils and re-dispersed.
Finally, we can use the oil-continuous bulk phase to create concentrated, stable water in oil
emulsions having a paste-like consistency with a water content of up to 90% by volume.
The possibilities for applications of the different systems will be discussed.


Structure and dynamics of biomacromolecules in solution : recent developments and future perspectives in SANS/SAXS and neutron spectroscopy

By Frank Gabel (IBS)

HDR Defence

 IBS seminar room

As a first topic, recent developments in biological neutron and X-ray small angle scattering
(SANS/SAXS) are presented as well as the benefit of combining them with complementary
techniques (with a focus on NMR). The issues of uniqueness, accuracy and exhaustive
sampling of possible structural models will be discussed as a function of structural restraints
available and experimental errors.
As a second topic, the benefit of combining the specific scattering properties of neutrons
and X-rays will be illustrated by a SAXS/SANS study on the interaction of urea with ubiquitin
during the solvent-induced denaturation process.
As a third and last topic, recent developments in neutron spectroscopy for the study
of biomacromolecular and solvent dynamics on the pico/nanosecond timescale and the
Ångström lengthscale will be presented. The possibilities to focus specifically on different
types of atomic motions in complex biological samples (proteins in solution, entire biological
cells) as well as the benefit of combining data from several instruments with different
energy resolutions and wave vector transfers will be discussed.
Finally, future perspectives and possible applications of all three topics will be
presented.


Dynamics of PKA Signaling

By Susan S. Taylor (UCSD, USA)

IRTSV seminar

 Amphitheatre DAUTREPPE (CEA)

 The protein kinase superfamily is one of the largest and most important for biology. These enzymes, which serve as
master switches for regulating a myriad of biological functions, are not only catalysts that mediate the transfer of a
phosphate from ATP to protein substrates but also scaffolds that mediate protein:protein interactions. PKA, one of the
best understood members of this family, serves in many ways as a prototype for the family. The PKA catalytic (C)
subunits are assembled as fully active phosphorylated enzymes that are kept in an inactive state by association with
dimeric regulatory (R) subunits. The tetrameric holoenzyme is activated by the second messenger, cAMP, binding to
the regulatory subunits. With the C subunit we see not only how the enzyme opens and closes as it goes through a
catalytic cycle but also how the presence of a single phosphate assembles a stable, fully active enzyme where the small
and large lobes are linked by a set of two hrydrophobic spines. Although crystal structures of R and C subunits have
been solved previously, recent structures of holoenzyme complexes between R and C subunits demonstrate the
remarkable conformational maleability of the R subunits as they shuttle between two very different but stable
conformational states, one bound to cAMP and the other to the catalytic subunit. These holoenzyme complexes reveal
for the first time how this highly allosteric switch mechanism is mediated. The regulatory subunits not only bind to
cAMP and the catalytic subunits but also to A Kinase Anchoring Proteins (AKAPs) through their dimerization docking
domain. This targeting mechanism localizes PKA to specific sites within the cell.

for a site entry, contact odile.rossignol@cea.fr


“ Mucoviscidose : Modèles de la structure 3D de la protéine CFTR †-

By Dr. Isabelle CALLEBAUT (Universités Paris 6 et Paris 7)

ICMG seminar

 ICMG
 Bâtiment E André Rassat, Salle de Conférences, rez de chaussée, DU


Inactivation des systèmes de sauvegarde par les protéines Twist et EMT

By Alain PUISIEUX (ISPB Lyon)

IAB seminar

salle de conférence de l’IAB


Dernières avancées sur le transport de macromolécules vers les mitochondries végétales -

By Laurence Drouard ( Institut de Biologie Moléculaire des Plantes, Strasbourg)

IRTSV seminare

Amphithéâtre Daniel Dautreppe (CEA)
contact in advance odile.rossignol@cea.fr for a badge


Present and Future Status of Protein Crystallography Beamlines at the Photon Factory, Japan

By Leonard CHAVAS (photon Factory, Japan)

ESRF seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

Abstract


Towards High-Resolution Structure with Low-Resolution Data

by Gunnar Schroeder (Juelich, Germany)

EMBL Seminar

 EMBL seminar Room

Structure determination of large proteins and protein assemblies is a major challenge in molecular biology. Experiments often yield only low resolution or sparse data, which are not sufficient to fully determine atomistic structures. We have, therefore, developed a general geometry-based algorithm that efficiently refines structures and samples their conformational space under constraints imposed by low-resolution experimental data, in particular, low-resolution electron density maps obtained from electron microscopy or x-ray crystallography experiments. In addition, prior structural knowledge is used to contribute information that is missing from the data and to guide the conformational sampling and refinement; this dramatically reduces the over-fitting problem, which is more severe at low resolution. Applications to protein structure refinement using crystallographic data as well as density maps obtained from single-particle cryo-electron microscopy demonstrate the scope of this approach.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v464/n7292/full/nature08892.html

On the 9th of July at 9:30am in the EMBL seminar room, a ’tutorial’ on DEN refinement with CNS and DEN refinement with DireX will be organised (Gunnnar Schroader’s newly developed program).


hosted by A. McCarthy (EMBL)


CANCELLED: Following evolution at a molecular level

By Colin Jackson (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

As formalized by Maynard-Smith, major evolutionary transitions of function and structure
must occur gradually, and smoothly, through functional intermediates states. However,
the nature of such transitions and intermediates remains largely unknown. To explore this
process, we have used laboratory evolution to generate a complete trajectory: starting
from a promiscuous aryl esterase activity (kcat/KM = 1.4×102), 105 fold less efficient
than the native activity of a phosphotriesterase, incremental sequence changes gradually
produced a smooth ‘functional switch’, involving a 4×108-fold reversal in the relative
catalytic efficiencies, generating an efficient aryl esterase (kcat/KM = 5 x 106). Structural
analysis has been used to investigate the structure-function relationship, revealing the
‘smoothness’ of the transition is based upon the ability of the protein to adopt a range of
conformations with different catalytic properties. In this sense, evolution of new function
can be viewed as a gradual shift in the conformational equilibrium of an enzyme, rather
than a series of discrete changes.
Axe


Structure of influenza virus polymerase

By Rob Ruigrok (UVHCI, Grenoble)

IAB Seminar

 IAB Seminar Room


Modélisation par QM/MM des mécanismes réactionnels dans le centre actif des cholinestérases.

BySofya Lushchekina (Univiversité Lomonossov, Moscou)

IBS seminar

 IBS Seminar Room


hosted by P. Masson (IBS)


Quantitative proteomics analyses: Large-scale and targeted analyses

By Jerome Garin (EDyP Lab; U880 INSERM/CEA/UJF-Grenoble)

CIBB Seminar

 CIBB seminar Room

A wide variety of strategies, using a range of methods, exist to carry out quantitative proteomic analyses. The nature of the biological material, and the type of question asked, determine the choice of one method over another. Two types of complementary strategies can be distinguished: large-scale proteomics studies which may be with or without a priori, and quantitative studies targeted towards proteins of interest.

Large-scale studies are, by their essence naïve; they can, for example, be implemented for the analysis of the dynamics of a biological system as part of a kinetic study, or to determine the consequences of a mutation. This type of approach allows the discovery, with no preconceptions, of molecular actors involved in the biological mechanisms studied. In the clinical context, the same naïve approaches can be used to compare biological samples from healthy control patients to samples from patients suffering from a particular pathology; they will lead to the discovery of candidate biomarkers for the pathology in question.

As a second step, it is necessary to refine the knowledge derived from large-scale approaches by carrying out new analyses targeting the proteins of interest revealed by the naïve approach using methods which allow better quality data to be acquired. This can be done by using SRM (“Selected Reaction Monitoring†) mass spectrometry combined to adequate internal isotopically labeled standards.

My talk will present different quantitative analytical strategies that are currently being used in the EDyP Lab, especially in the context of the discovery and evaluation of bladder cancer biomarkers.


How proteins find and recognize their targets on DNA

By Anatoly Kolomeisky (RICE University, Houston, USA)

LSP Seminar

Room 216 Building 45, Lab. de Spectro. Physique, Campus,

contact: jocelyn.etienne@ujf-grenoble.fr


Electron density studies of disaccharides

By Alfred D. FRENCH (Agricultural Research Service, New Orleans, USA)

CERMAV seminar

 Cermav, Conference room, 601 rue de la chimie, campus

Contact: Nishiyama@cermav.cnrs.fr


pHLIP technology for imaging and drug delivery

By O.A. Andreev (University of Rhode Island, USA)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Auditorium, Central Building

We have found a way to target tumors based on their elevated level of extracellular acidity. Acidosis is a hallmark of tumor development both at very early and at advanced stages. However, the acidic extracellular environment in tumors has not been properly explored yet probably due to a lack of compounds that dramatically change their properties in the range of pH 6.0-7.5. Recently we designed the pH Low Insertion Peptide (pHLIP), which acts as a bionanosyringe, it inserts in cellular membrane and forms transmembrane helix at acidic extracellular pH (6.0-6.5) but not at normal pH. Our data demonstrated that the fluorescently labeled pHLIP was accumulated in tumors established in mice. pHLIP can find cancer cells and insert itself in their membrane. No insertion occurs in normal cells (pH 7.4). pHLIP possesses dual delivery capabilities: it can inject and release cargo molecules into the cytoplasm and/or it can tether cargo molecules to the cell surface. In the first scenario, a cargo molecule is attached to the pHLIP C-terminus via a cleavable S-S bond while in the second it is conjugated to the N-terminus via a non-cleavable bond. Among molecules tethered for the surface of cancer cells in vivo are fluorescent dyes, PET and SPECT imaging agents. Among cell-impermeable molecules translocated across a cell membrane are cyclic peptides, toxin – phalloidin and PNAs. Our technology opens the new opportunity to target cancer tumors with high selectivity and decreased side effects.

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE
ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.

Requests made by e-mail will be confirmed. If you do not receive a
confirmation e-mail, please contact us by phone.


Hosted by Narayanan Theyencheri (ESRF)


Membrane-associated folding and unfolding

By Y.K. Reshetnyak (University of Rhode Island, USA)

ILL/ESRF seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room

We are studying the molecular events that occur when a peptide inserts across a membrane or exits from it. Using pH jumps to trigger insertion/exit of the pHLIP (pH Low Insertion Peptide) to enable kinetic analysis, we show that insertion occurs in several steps, with rapid (0.1 sec) interfacial helix formation followed by a much slower (100 sec) insertion pathway to form a transmembrane helix. The reverse process of unfolding and peptide exit from the bilayer core, which can be induced by a rapid pH jump from acidic to basic, proceeds much faster than folding/insertion and through different intermediate states. In the exit pathway, the helix-coil transition is initiated while the polypeptide is still inside the membrane. We also designed two pHLIP-variants where Asp and Glu residues were removed from the C-terminus, which inserts across the membrane. The variants preserve the same pH-dependent properties of pHLIP peptide interaction with the membrane, but insertion occurs 10-100 times faster than in the case of the parent pHLIP peptide. A kinetic model of peptide-membrane insertion/folding and exit/unfolding will be discussed.

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE
ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.

Requests made by e-mail will be confirmed. If you do not receive a
confirmation e-mail, please contact us by phone.


Hosted by Narayanan Theyencheri (ESRF)


“Large-scale protein clustering revolutionizes methodology in functional and evolutionary analyses in photosynthetic organismsâ€

By Naoki SATO (University of Tokyo, Japon)

IRTSV seminar

CEA Grenoble, Amphithéâtre Daniel Dautreppe,

 please contact odile.rossignol@cea.fr for an entry badge


La dynamique du chromophore àl’état excité dans les protéines fluorescentes

By Isabelle Demachy (Université Paris Sud)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

Les protéines fluorescentes présentent des caractéristiques photophysiques (rendement
quantique, durées de vie de fluorescence, sensibilité au pH…) variées pour un même
chromophore et des changements structuraux limités. La compréhension àl’échelle
moléculaire des mécanismes sous-jacents peut se nourrir efficacement de la modélisation
de ces systèmes. Dans ce séminaire, l’étude de la dynamique du chromophore àl’état
excité dans la protéine GFP ou certains mutants sera analysée grâce au développement
d’une approche théorique couvrant plusieurs échelles de temps. Il apparaît qu’un dialogue
théorie-expérience est indispensable pour optimiser les modes d’exploration des surfaces
àla recherche du ou des ‘chemins de réaction’.


Réponse immune au soi altéré. "Un rôle multi facettes pour la protéine ancestrale du complément C1q"

By Philippe Frachet (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

Le rôle de C1q dans l’immunité est aujourd’hui revisité par le décryptage en cours des
mécanismes de l’élimination des cellules du soi altéré. Secrété par les macrophages et
les cellules dendritiques immatures, C1q sert de harpon au phagocyte pour la pêche aux
cellules àéliminer tout en modulant la réponse immune adaptée. Le point sera fait sur
ses ligands avérés ou supposés àla surface des deux cellules en présence, le phagocyte
et la cellule cible. Mauvaise nouvelle: les pathogènes savent probablement cela depuis
longtemps et l’utilisent aujourd’hui pour se mettre àcouvert, ou pire!
Axe


Raman-assisted X-ray crystallography for biomolecules at the synchrotron

By Philippe CARPENTIER (IBS)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Central Building room 500 - 501

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.

Requests made by e-mail will be confirmed. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please contact us by phone.


Ligand-induced Changes in Protein Structural Ensembles Studied by X-ray Solution Scattering: Adenylate Kinase, Alcohol Dehydrogenase,and Calmodulin

By David Minh (Argonne National Lab, USA)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room


hosted by M. Blackledge (IBS)


Nucleosome remodeling code : Functional divergence of chromatin remodeling ATPases

By Dr. Gernot Längst (Regensburg)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Host: Imre Berger


Structural basis for silver-mediated killing of the human pathogen Vibrio cholerae

By Guenter Fritz (University of Freiburg)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room,


Host: Christiane Schaffitzel


Molecular dynamics of synaptic receptors: from cell biology to pathology

By Antoine TRILLER (ENS, Paris)

GIN seminar

 Salle de conférences, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (GIN)

A complex molecular assembly accounts for receptor accumulation at synapses and “synaptic plasticity†derives partly from modifications of postsynaptic receptor number resulting from receptor trafficking. New concepts now emerge from imaging of receptor movements at the single molecule level.
Inhibitory glycine or GABA receptors, and the excitatory AMPA and NMDA glutamate receptors are mobile in synapses, switch between extrasynaptic and synaptic localizations by lateral diffusion and can be exchanged between synapses through lateral diffusion in the plane of the extrasynaptic plasma membrane. This dynamic behavior can be tuned by the cytoskeleton or by the synaptic activity. This diffusive behavior, provides a new framework for the understanding of synaptic strength regulations.
I will present recent data on the regulation of the diffusive properties of inhibitory receptors which provide new mechanisms underlying the modifications of the excitation–inhibition balance during the so-called plasticity within neuronal networks. I will also show how mGluR diffusion is affected by a-beta oligomeres and how this can be at the origin of defects seen in Alzheimer disease.

 Contact: claude.feuerstein@ujf-grenoble.fr


forthcoming

By Orsolya Barabas (EMBL HD)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Host: Imre Berger


Pattern recognition by the TLR4-MD-2 complex

By Jie-Oh Lee (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

TLR4 and MD-2 form a heterodimer that recognizes LPS from Gram negative bacteria. Eritoran is
a candidate anti-sepsis drug that antagonizes LPS activity by binding to the TLR4-MD-2 complex.
We determined the crystal structures of TLR4-MD-2 in complex with Eritoran and LPS. TLR4 is
an atypical member of the LRR family and is composed of N-terminal, central and C-terminal
domains. The b sheet of the central domain shows unusually small radii and large twist angles.
MD-2 binds to the concave surface of the N-terminal and central domains. Agonistic LPS induced
the formation of an “m†-shaped receptor multimer composed of two copies of the TLR4-MD-2-LPS
complex arranged in a symmetrical fashion. LPS interacts with a large hydrophobic pocket in MD-2
and directly bridges the two components of the multimer. Five of the six lipid chains of LPS are
buried deep inside the pocket and the remaining chain is exposed to the surface of MD-2, forming
a hydrophobic interaction with the conserved phenylalanines of TLR4. The F126 loop of MD-2
undergoes localized structural change and supports this core hydrophobic interface by making
hydrophilic interactions with TLR4. Eritoran binds to the LPS pocket in MD-2 and blocks LPS binding
and TLR4-MD-2 heterotetramerization. Structural comparison of the TLR4-MD-2-LPS complex with
the TLR4-MD-2-Eritoran complex indicates that two additional lipid chains in LPS displace the
phosphorylated glucosamine backbone towards the solvent area by 5 angstrom. This structural
shift allows phosphate groups of LPS to contribute to receptor multimerization by forming ionic
interactions with a cluster of positively charged residues in TLR4 and MD-2. The TLR4-MD-2-LPS
structure illustrates the remarkable versatility of the ligand recognition mechanisms employed by
the TLR family, which is essential for defense against diverse microbial infection. We propose that
formation of the TLR dimer brings the intracellular TIR domains close to each other to promote
dimerization and initiate signaling.


Host: C. Petosa


CANCELLED: Following evolution at a molecular level

By Colin Jackson (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar Room

As formalized by Maynard-Smith, major evolutionary transitions of function and structure
must occur gradually, and smoothly, through functional intermediates states. However,
the nature of such transitions and intermediates remains largely unknown. To explore this
process, we have used laboratory evolution to generate a complete trajectory: starting
from a promiscuous aryl esterase activity (kcat/KM = 1.4×102), 105 fold less efficient
than the native activity of a phosphotriesterase, incremental sequence changes gradually
produced a smooth ‘functional switch’, involving a 4×108-fold reversal in the relative
catalytic efficiencies, generating an efficient aryl esterase (kcat/KM = 5 x 106). Structural
analysis has been used to investigate the structure-function relationship, revealing the
‘smoothness’ of the transition is based upon the ability of the protein to adopt a range of
conformations with different catalytic properties. In this sense, evolution of new function
can be viewed as a gradual shift in the conformational equilibrium of an enzyme, rather
than a series of discrete changes.
Axe


Genome replication and maintenance under extreme conditions

By Hannu Myllykallio (Ecole Polytechnique, Palaiseau)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Archaea, prokaryotes representing the third domain of life, often thrive under conditions
approaching the physical limits of life (high temperature and salinity), which continuously
attack the integrity of the genetic material. To understand how these fascinating organisms
efficiently duplicate and repair their chromosomes under extreme conditions, we have
been working on the identification and characterization of protein complexes required
for genome maintenance in hyperthermophilic and halophilic archaea. This presentation
will summarize how our work has led to the discovery of a novel family of DNA metabolic
enzymes and DNA repair endonucleases. Special attention will be given to the structural
(crystallography, SAXS) and functional characterization of these previously uncharacterized
enzymes. Moreover, in a second part of my talk, I will discuss how our work has led to the
unexpected discovery of a new drug target and provided the structural basis for rational
design of anti-microbial compounds


host: Bruno Franzetti (IBS)


Searching for an effective inhibitor of the enzyme Triosephosphate Isomerase to cure Chagas disease. Can surface measurements help us?

By Dr. Miguel COSTAS (Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México)

ILL seminar

 Room 158, 1st floor, ILL4.

Chagas disease is caused by a parasite (Trypanosoma cruzi). It affects 18 million people in the American continent and there is no cure for it. One possible strategy to combat parasitic diseases is the search for molecules that perturb the function of enzymes. In turn, the target enzyme might be exclusive of the parasite or exist in both, the parasite and the host. In the later case, the molecule that is sought must be selective for the enzyme of the parasite, leaving intact that of the human host. We have followed this approach, choosing as the target protein Triosephosphate Isomerase (TIM). TIM is a homodimer, each subunit having 250 amino acid residues and folding into a (b/a)8 domain. Although the catalytic residues are self-contained in each monomer, only dimers are active. TIM catalyzes the fifth step of glycolysis, ensuring the net production of ATP in the conversion of glucose to pyruvate and, hence, it is essential for maintaining life under anaerobic conditions. Inhibiting the TIM of Trypanosoma cruzi (TcTIM), leaving functional the TIM of human (hTIM), would produce the elimination of the parasite infecting the human. We have found several molecules (having in common the benzothiazol chemical group) that able to inhibit TcTIM with a high level of selectivity, i.e. they barely inhibit hTIM. Using calorimetric and biochemical methods (and in one case, crystallographic information), we have characterized the action of the inhibitors. A salient result is that the inhibitors are more effective at low than at high protein concentrations indicating that they perturb the association between the two TcTIM monomers. This is consistent with the fact that the interface of TcTIM (an area of about 1400 Ã…2) that might be binding the inhibitor and its equivalent region in hTIM differ in amino acid composition and hydrophobic packing. Our working hypothesis is then that the inhibitors displace the dimer-monomer equilibrium towards inactive monomers, by binding into the dimer interface. To design better inhibitors, it would be very useful to characterize the dimer to monomer dissociation constants TcTIM and hTIM. However, this is a difficult task since TIM activity essays indicate that TIM dissociation occurs at very low concentrations (10-7-10-8 M), precluding the use of techniques such as fluorescence, circular dichroism or highly-sensitive calorimetry. As an alternative, assuming that TIM dimers might dissociate at the liquid/air interface, we have measured the dynamic surface tensions of TIMs at several concentrations.


Évolution du rôle et des propriétés biochimiques de LEAFY, un régulateur central du développement floral

By Edwige Moyroud (iRTSV/LPCV)

irTSV seminar

PhD Defence

 CEA Amphi Dautreppe

 contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr).
Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Catalytic mechanism of heme oxygenase, a central enzyme of heme catabolism

By Masao Ikeda-Saito (IMRAM, Tohoku University, Japan)

IrTSV seminar

 CEA Room C3/104

Please contact Odile Rossignol for a site access (odile.rossignol@cea.fr, 04 38 78 45 63)


Return of the Native- Macro-to-micro structural proteomics with native source proteins

By Chloé ZUBIETA (EMBL Grenoble, France)

ESRF seminar

 room 337, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Hosted by Sean McSweeney


PhD defence: Etude structurale et fonctionnelle de protéines impliquées dans la pathogénie bactérienne

By Pierre-Jean Matteï (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD defence: Etude structurale de biomarqueurs de neuropathologies

By Isma Hachi (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD defence: Conception et caractérisation de biocapteurs basés sur l’assemblage de récepteurs et canaux ioniques

By Lydia Caro (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Hide-and-Seek: a dangerous game between Streptococcus pneumoniae and the host immune system

By Barbara Albiger (Biomedical center BMC, Lund, Sweden)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

The pneumococcus can colonize asymptomatically its host but bacterial
carriage is believed to be a prerequisite and precede the development of
invasive infections. Up to 70% of children attending daycare centers,
are carrying this potentially devatasting pathogen in their
nasopharynx. However, both the microbial and host factors that influence
the establishment of asymptomatic carriage and/or facilitate invasive
infections are not clearly defined. It is, therefore, imperative to
increase our understanding of both host responses against pneumococci
and immune evasion mechanisms developed by the pneumococcus. These
knowledge are fundamental to improve diagnostics and foremost treatment
of infectious diseases, including development of new preventive and
therapeutic strategies. The data that I will present will address these
aspects with a focus on the role of the Toll-like receptors in
pneumococcal infections, the role of the CXC chemokines as mucosal
antibiotics and the strategies of complement evasion by the pneumococcus.


CANCELLED: Bacterial pathogenicity: from Botox to antibiotic resistance

By Jérôme DUPUY (IBS)

ESRF seminar

 room 337, Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Isabelle Combe tel +33 (0)438 88-19-92.


hosted by S. McSweeney


Exosomes neuronaux: mythe ou réalité ?

By Remy Sadoul (Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences)

IAB seminar

Les séminaires ont lieu à11h. dans la salle de conférence de l’Institut Albert Bonniot, Rond Point de La Chatourne, 38700 La Tronche.

http://www-iab.ujf-grenoble.fr


Pharmaco- and Toxicogenomics

By Dr. Jürgen Borlak (Fraunhofer Institute of Toxicology and Experimental Medicine Hannover)

IAB seminar

Les séminaires ont lieu à11h. dans la salle de conférence de l’Institut Albert Bonniot, Rond Point de La Chatourne, 38700 La Tronche.


Structural and functional analysis of the human Amyloid Precursor Protein (APP) in complex with Fe65 and of the recombinational DNA repair pathway of the radioresistant bacterium Deinococcus radiodurans

By Jens RADZIMANOWSKI (ESRF Grenoble, France)

ESRF seminar room

 room 500 - 501, ESRF Central Building

 Abstract


Defects in DNA strand break repair and links to human disease

by Stephen West (London Research Institute, UK)

EMBL/CIBB seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre
Webpage of stephen West


host: Simone Pellegrino (ESRF)


CANCELLED: ’Dots to drugs’: genomics in the search for novel antimalarials

Lyn-Marie Birkholtz (Univ of Pretoria, South Africa)

IrTSV seminar

 CEA, room C3-104.

Functional genomics approaches are indispensable tools in the drug discovery arena and, with the malaria parasite Plasmodium genus having the most species sequenced of any eukaryotic organism so far, the Plasmodia could provide unique opportunities for the study of intracellular eukaryotic pathogens. The application of functional genomics to post-genomics research of Plasmodia is providing remarkable fingerprints of specific drug actions in the parasite and thus provide information on mode of action of novel antimalarials. As such, evidence of the antimalarial properties of herbicide-derived compounds will be presented.

for a site access, contact odile.rossignol@cea.fr (04.38.78.45.63)


Structure and allosteric transitions of pentameric ligand gated ion channels: new insights from bacterial homologues

by Nicolas Bocquet (Fredrich Miescher Institute for Biomolecular Research,Basel)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


host: J. Boisbouvier


Gating motions of KcsA potassium channel detected in a single molecule

By Hirofumi Shimizu (ESRF visiting scientist)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Hirofumi Shimizu is a visting scientist at the ESRF for one year. He is working on innovative ways to study the dynamics of membrane proteins, transporters and ion channels. He will present his current work on the study of K channels using attached gold nanocrystal and irradiation with white X-rays to track conformational changes induced by a modulator in real time.

Ref: Shimizu H, Iwamoto M, Konno T, Nihei A, Sasaki YC, Oiki S (2008) Global twisting motion of single molecular KcsA potassium channel upon Gating. Cell 132: 67-78


hosted by Michel Vivaudou (IBS)


Genetic regulatory network and topological state of DNA in the expression of the main virulence genes of Dickeya dadantii

By William Nasser (UCBL, Lyon)

Jean Roget Seminar

 Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.
Pour y accéder: Prenez l’ascenseur sud.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74

Recent studies indicate that bacterial gene expression is coordinated by a global regulatory network, involving
DNA topoisomerases, chromatin proteins (mainly H-NS and Fis) and the RNA polymerase with associated
factors. The bacterial genetic response to a challenge, including the exposure to drugs or changes in the
environmental conditions, thus depends on how this network is poised. Dickeya dadantii (formely Erwinia
chrysanthemi) is an enterobacteria responsible for the soft rot disease of many plants of agricultural importance
such as potato, carrot, chicory, African violet, etc… Its pathogenicity is characterized by a rapid necrosis of
parenchymatous tissues and a broad host specificity. Soft rot symptoms are mainly associated with the
synthesis of extracellular degradative enzymes, mostly pectate lyases (Pels), that will destroy the cell wall.
However, an efficient colonization of the plant requires additional factors such as production of
exopolysaccharides, iron assimilation and proteins able to fight the plant defense reactions. I will show that the
transcription of the D. dadantii virulence genes is modulated by a complex regulatory network involving various
regulators, the activity of which is modulated by different stimuli such as pectic compounds (KdgR), growth
phase (Fis), catabolic repression (CRP), temperature and nutritional starvation (H-NS and Fis). I will also show
that the expression of the virulence genes is modulated by changes in the DNA topology and that H-NS and Fis
adjust the global structural modifications of the chromatin at the virulence gene promoters in order to optimize
their expression. A dynamic model of the regulatory network controlling plant infection will be presented.


Plasmodium sporozoites: First line of malaria parasite/host cross-talk

By Kay Matuschewski (Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology, Berlin, Germany)

Jean Roget Seminar

 Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.
Pour y accéder: Prenez l’ascenseur sud.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74

Malaria pathology is caused exclusively by Plasmodium blood stages and is preceded by a clinically silent
parasite expansion phase in the liver. This pre-erythrocytic phase ranges from sporozoite delivery via infected
mosquitoes to merozoite egress out of an infected hepatocyte. The identification of parasite-encoded molecules
that drive this developmental program offers opportunities for novel malaria intervention strategies. Using
experimental genetics we analyze the cellular roles of sporozoite- and liver stage- specific proteins. These
studies led to the identification of key molecules for parasite motility and intracellular growth. In experimental
animal models, lasting sterilizing immunity against re-infection can be elicited with arrested Plasmodium liver
stages. I will discuss our recent findings on Plasmodium sporozoite and liver stage biology.
Our group: Our laboratory employs experimental genetics to study Plasmodium gene functions. We want to
contribute to the understanding of the molecular mechanisms that drive Plasmodium life cycle progression,
including parasite motility, invasion and egress. Some of the knockout strains turn out to be useful tools to study
parasite/host interactions and protective immune responses. We hope to eventually translate our findings to the
human pathogens and engage in joint projects with teams working in malaria-endemic areas.


Connections entre RNAi et Epigénétique chez Schizosaccharomyces pombe

André Verdel (Institut Albert Bonniot, Grenoble)

IrTSV seminar

 CEA Amphi Dautreppe

 contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr).
Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Multiple pathways for glycerolipid biosynthesis in plants: Their importance in development responses to environmental changes and oil production as a plant energy stock

By Hiroyuki Ohta (Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan)

irTSV seminar

 CEA Amphi Dautreppe

 contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr).
Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Structural and functional characterization of the effector protein ExoU of Pseudomonas aeruginosa

by Claire GENDRIN (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the third most common cause of nosocomial infections and
causes chronic infection of patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), leading to a reduced life
expectancy. Its pathogenicity relies on a type III secretion system (T3SS) which enables
the bacterium to inject toxins directly into the cytoplasm of eukaryotic cells. ExoU is
one of the major toxins injected by the T3SS. In the bacterial cytoplasm, ExoU forms a
stable complex with its chaperone SpcU. After secretion, the toxin has been shown to
associate with the plasma membrane of the target cell, where it acts as a phospholipase.
An ubiquitinylated form of ExoU has been identified, but the significance of this modification
remains to be determined.
We have purified a truncated form of ExoU stabilised by its chaperone SpcU, and obtained
crystals of the complex that diffract at 4 A. We also developed an in vivo system of detection
of the ubiquitinylated form of ExoU, which will enable us to further explore the outcome
of ExoU in the eukaryotic cell. Ubiquitinylation of a bacterial protein is a remarkable
adaptation to life from another kingdom, and the deciphering of this phenomenon will
offer new insights into the mechanisms of bacterial pathogenicity.


mitochondrial phenylalanyl-tRNA synthetase

By Liron Klipcan (Weizmann, Israel)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Computational studies of permeation and gating in K+-channels

by Carmen Domene (University of Oxford)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Host: E. Pebay-Peyroula (IBS)


PhD Defence: Caractérisation biochimique de YphC, une protéine de Bacillus subtilis avec deux domaines GTPases en tandem

By Anne-Emmanuelle Foucher (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD Defence: "Etudes biophysiques et structurales du complexe de réplication des Rhabdoviridae: la phosphoprotéine et ses interactions avec la nucléoprotéine"

By Cedric Leyrat (UVHCI)

UVHCI seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre


PHD Defence: Analyse des interactions ADN lésé / protéines. Optimisations méthodologiques et applications aux dommages de l’ADN engendrés par les dérivés de platine.

By Christophe BOUNAIX MORAND DU PUCH (INAC / SCIB / LAN)

Medical School

Faculté de Médecine Pharmacie, amphi Boucherle, La Tronche, (contact: zohra.termache@cea.fr)


Protein Fluctuations, Form and Function - Insights from Neutron Spin Echo

by Dr Lee Makowski (Northeastern University, Boston, USA)

ILL seminar

 CIBB Seminar Room
It is becoming increasingly clear that protein structure does not, in and of itself, provide all the necessary information to understand protein function. Dynamics and disorder contribute significantly to the directed activities of many, if not all, proteins. Proteins in solution undergo structural fluctuations that generate an ensemble of structures populating low energy pathways that correspond to functionally important conformational transitions. Study of those fluctuations provides insight into the form of these transitions and the nature of the dynamic motions of the protein. In this talk I will describe our use of neutron spin echo spectroscopy to study the dynamics of hemoglobin and myoglobin. Comparison of the behavior of these two proteins makes possible the identification of relaxations that correspond to the relative motions of subunits - motions that occur in hemoglobin but not myoglobin. The molecular basis of function in these two proteins was established 40 years ago, but recently has come under renewed scrutiny. Our observations provide new insights into this intriguing controversy.

External visitors may ask for a site access to Karine Sultan (sultan@ill.fr).


hosted by College 8


Synchrotron Development in China.

By Hong Ding, (Chinese Academy of Sciences)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Auditorium - Central Building

In this talk, Prof. Hong Ding will give an overview introduction of synchrotron development in China, mainly focusing on future plan of the new 3.5-GeV Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility and the proposed 5-GeV Beijing Advanced Synchrotron.

For a site access request, please contact romero@esrf.fr


Conformational Dynamics and Oligomerization Pathways of Prion Protein

By Human Rezaei (INRA, Virologie et Immunologie Moléculaires, Jouy-en Josas)

Institut Jean Roget

 Seminar room, 5th floor


En chemin d’une approche vaccinale

By Geneviève Renauld-Mongénie (ISanofiPasteur)

Institut Jean Roget

 Seminar room, 5th floor


La diversité d’Escherichia coli dans la nature

By Erick Denamur (Faculté de Médecine Xavier Bichat IFR02-INSERM U722)

Institut Jean Roget

 Seminar room, 5th floor


Bases structurales des mécanismes de virulence de bactéries pathogènes

By Andrea Dessen (IBS)

IrTSV seminar

 CEA Amphitheatre DAUTREPPE

 for a site access, contact Odile Rossignol (04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr


Genome sequencing and evolution

P. Bork, C. Tyler-Smith, J. Weissenbach

PSB science day

 ESRF Auditorium

 from 13:30 to 17:00

 Please Download the program

Invited speakers:

 Peer Bork (EMBL, Heidelberg)

 Chris Tyler-Smith (Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, Hinxton)

 Jean Weissenbach (Genopole, Paris)


“Following evolution at a molecular levelâ€

By Colin Jackson (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


“Distinct advantages of recombinant versus plasma-derived C1-inhibitor in neuroprotection : role of mannose binding lectinâ€

By Maria Grazia DE SIMONI (Mario Negri Institute, Milan, Italy)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Time resolved structural studies of membrane proteins

by Richard Neutze (Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry & Biophysics, Göteborg)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Structural biology is a very successful sub-field of the life-sciences. Technical innovations,
including constant improvements surrounding the use of synchrotron radiation, have
contributed to an extended acceleration in the rate at which new structures are determined.
Nevertheless, all enzymes undergo conformational changes during their reaction cycles
and an X-ray structure of a resting conformation alone describes only the starting point
for the reaction. Time-resolved structural studies of protein reaction dynamics aim to
elucidate the conformational changes occurring in proteins and thereby elucidate the
chemical details of their reaction mechanism.
In this presentation I will describe two different approaches to studying the structural
dynamics of membrane proteins. I will first present structural results from time-resolved
Laue diffraction studies of a photosynthetic reaction centre using 3D crystals. Thereafter I
will describe the method of time-resolved wide angle X-ray scattering applied to the study
of detergent solubilised bacteriorhodpsin in solution. I argue that this latter method, in
particular, offers a promising approach to study, at low-resolution, the structural dynamics
of a broad range of biological systems using synchrotron radiation. Finally I touch on the
implications of developing X-ray free electron lasers on the field of time-resolved structural
biology.


PhD Defence: Conformational Disorder in Folded and Intrinsically Disordered Proteins from Nuclear Magnetic Resonance

By Loic Salmon (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Biological macromolecules are, by essence, dynamical systems. While the importance
of this flexibility is nowadays well established, the accurate characterization of the
conformational disorder of these systems remains an important challenge. Nuclear
magnetic resonance spectroscopy is a unique tool to probe these motions at atomic level,
through the analysis of spin relaxation or residual dipolar couplings. The latter allows all
motions occurring at timescales faster than the millisecond to be investigated, including
physiologically important timescales. The information presents in those couplings is
interpreted here using mainly analytical approaches in order to quantify the amounts
of dynamics present in folded protein, to determine the direction of those motions and
to obtain structural information within this conformational disorder. These analytical
approaches are complemented by numerical methods, that allowed the observation of
phenomena from a different point of view or the investigation of other systems such
as intrinsically disordered proteins. All of these studies demonstrate an important
complementarity between structural order and conformational disorder.


Immunotherapy of follicular lymphoma by potentiation of anti-tumor activity of gamma delta T-lymphocytes

By Mouni Braza (INSERM Montpellier)

UVHCI Seminar

 CIBB seminar room.


rôle de l’herpèsvirus humain de type 6 dans le syndrome d’hypersensibilité médicamenteuse et le lymphome de Hodgkin

By Laurent Mardivirin (Université de Limoges)

UVHCI Seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Two innovative radiotherapy concepts at the ESRF: Microbeams and Minibeams techniques with clinical potential

By Sukhéna Sarun

UVHCI Seminar

 CIBB seminar room


Protein folding and ligand-enzyme binding from biased molecular dynamics simulations

by Fabio Pietrucci (EPFL-CECAM, Lausanne, CH)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


DNA repair dysfunctionality in lung cancer : therapeutic implication

by Jean-Charles SORIA (Institut Gustave Roussy, Villejuif, France)

IAB seminar

 Institut Albert Bonniot, Seminar room, Dom. de la Merci, la Tronche, (contact: stephanie.renaud@ujf-grenoble.fr)


Intoxication des animaux par le cadnium : jusqu’où la Chimie de coordination peut-elle aider ?

by Jean-Marc MOULIS (iRSTV, Grenoble)

UJF seminar

 Salle de conférence, bât. E – André Rassat, 470 rue de la Chimie, Campus,
(contact:pascale.maldivi@cea.fr)


The Achilles’ heel of bacterial pathogens

By Andrea Dessen (IBS)

Jean Roget seminar

Where: Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74


Purification and lipidomics analysis of the malaria relict plastid and more

By Cyrille Botté (LPCV Grenoble & McFadden Labo, University of Melbourne, Australia

Jean Roget seminar

Where: Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74


PhD Defence: Plasticité fonctionnelle et structurale chez Legionella pneumophila ??? Impact des protéines de type histone sur la virulence et génotypage par les séquences d’insertion

by Mike Vergnes (LAPM, Grenoble)

Jean Roget seminar

Where: Salle de conférence, lnstitut de Biologie et de Pathologie,
Site Nord du CHU de Grenoble.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74


Bases génétiques et cellulaires de la susceptibilité àl’infection toxoplasmique.

by Marie-France Cesbron-Delaw (Jean Roget, Grenoble)

GIN seminar

 Neurosciences Institut, Grenoble
 contact: moutinm@ujf-grenoble.fr


Une pincée de métal pour rehausser la saveur des protéines

By Chistine Cavazza (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Transport et trafic du nickel chez la bactérie pathogène Helicobacter pylori

by Hilde De Reuse (Institut Pasteur, Paris)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD Defence: Neutron scattering studies of the dynamics of biological systems as a function of hydration, temperature and pressure

by Marcus Trapp (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD Defence: Mécanismes moléculaires de la biogenèse du pilus chez Streptococcus pneumoniae

by Lamya El Mortaji (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD Defence:Etude conformationnelle de protéines membranaires mitochondriales modèles chez Saccharomyces cerevisiae : Analyses des relations structure/fonction du transporteur d’ADP/ATP et de l’accessibilité au solvant de la porine VDAC

by Benjamin Clemencon (CEA, Grenoble)

IrTSV seminar

 CNRS Amphitheatre

 Afin de limiter votre attente si vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr ; une autorisation d’entrée sera établie avant votre arrivée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. Les auditeurs étrangers (hors CEE) sont invités àdemander cette autorisation d’entrée au moins une semaine avant la date du séminaire. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


PhD Defence: Structural, Functional and Inhibition Studies of Human Histone Deacetylase 7

by Danielle Desravines

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Solid-state NMR applied to complex biomolecular systems

by Marc BALDUS (Utrecht University- Netherlands)

INAC seminar

CEA Grenoble - conference room C5-421A

PLEASE REQUEST A SITE ACCESS in advance and Contact: Sabine HEDIGER - 04 38 78 68 12


PhD Defence: Caracterisation de l’ubinucleine, partenaire cellulaire du transactivateur ZEBRA du virus d’Epstein-Barr

By Julien Lupo (UVHCI)

UVHCI seminar

 Amphitheatre Boucherle, Batiment Jean Roget, Faculte de Medecine et Pharmacie (la Tronche)


Engineered protein pores for nanotechnology

by Hagan BAYLEY (University of Oxford, UK)

IBS Seminar

 IBS seminar room


Cycle du Carbone et Climat

by Dominique RAYNAUD & Gerhard KRINNER (Laboratoire de Glaciologie et de Géophysique de l’Environnement, Grenoble)

Conférence d’Intérêt Général

 Amphithéâtre du LPSC (53 rue des Martyrs, Grenoble)

Sur le très long terme, àl’échelle du milliard d’années, le climat de notre planète a été influencé par la lente augmentation de l’intensité lumineuse du soleil d’environ 30% depuis la naissance de la Terre. Et cependant ce que l’on sait de l’évolution des températures est tout sauf un réchauffement monotone àcette échelle de temps. Les forçages radiatifs « externes » (par exemple les variations de l’orbite de la Terre, la configuration des continents) et les variations de la composition atmosphérique (dues au volcanisme, aux gaz àeffet de serre, aux aérosols…), partiellement issues des effets rétroactifs du système Terre, ont largement modulé la courbe de température de la planète et son évolution climatique. Et puis au cours des derniers siècles sont clairement apparues les perturbations anthropiques du bilan radiatif de la Terre (gaz àeffet de serre, aérosols,…) , au point que certains définissent cette période comme une nouvelle ère géologique : « l’Anthropocène ».

L’objet de la conférence est de focaliser sur la période récente, la perturbation anthropique du cycle du carbone et ses effets sur le climat. On présentera l’état des connaissances du budget de carbone et de sa dynamique entre les différents réservoirs (océan, continent, atmosphère). Que sait-on des émissions anthropiques en CO2 et CH4 (énergies fossiles, pratiques agricoles, déforestation), de leur évolution temporelle, de leur distribution géographique, du devenir de ces émissions en terme de redistribution entre l’atmosphère et les puits océaniques et continentaux ?

L’effet climatique de la perturbation anthropique en gaz àeffet de serre (CO2 , CH4 , N2 O, CFCs) peut être évalué àpartir de modèles et comparé aux effets provenant des autres forçages radiatifs. Nous décrirons le type de modèles utilisés pour les projections climatiques et les stratégies d’évaluation de ces modèles. Nous insisterons en particulier sur la classe émergente des « Earth System Models » qui tentent de prendre en compte et reproduire les rétroactions entre le climat et le cycle de carbone.


Systematic screen reveals new functional dynamics of histones H3 and H4 during gametogenesis

by Jerome Govin (CEA, France)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Conformational dynamics of the Hsp90 chaperone machinery

by Matthias Mayer (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität-Heidelberg, Germany)

EMBL seminar

 CIBB seminar room

The molecular chaperone Hsp90, assisted by a large number of
cochaperones, forms highly dynamic complexes with some 200 client proteins,
many of which are signaling molecules controlling cell homeostasis, proliferation,
differentiation and cell death. Among these clients are key regulators involved in all
six hallmarks of tumorigenesis explaining why Hsp90 became in recent years a
prime target for anti-cancer drug development.
We are interested in the molecular mechanism of the Hsp90 machinery focussing
on allosteric intra- and intermolecular regulation. To elucidate the mode of action of
this protein we use biochemical and biophysical methods and analyse mutant
proteins. In addition, we study the conformational dynamics of Hsp90 and its
cochaperones using amide hydrogen exchange combined with high-resolution
mass spectrometry and fluorescence spectroscopy. With these methods we are
able to resolve conformational changes in individual structural elements and define
allosteric pathways within Hsp90.


PhD Defence: structural and functional studies of the innate immunity receptor RIG-I pathway

By Eva Kowalinski (EMBL)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Elucidation of the peculiar nature of a water treatment protein form Moringa Oleifera

By Habauka M. Kwaambwa (Department of Chemistry, University of Botswana)

ILL seminar

 CIBB seminar room

Water treatment is a serious challenge in both developed and developing countries. Aluminium salts, iron salts and synthetic polymers are the commonly used coagulants in the treatment. The cost, health issues and environmental side effects of these compounds are their main disadvantages. Therefore, it is imperative to find alternatives which are cheaper, more environmentally friendly and have minimal health concerns. The protein extract from Moringa oleifera (MO) seeds is advocated as one such alternative. However, the nature and mechanism of water treatment is not well understood.
This presentation is a review of the results of the studies we have done so far to address the fundamental colloidal questions about the protein from MO seeds. Lack of such information or data compromises the interpretation of biophysical parameters and its use in water treatment. A particular extraction and purification protocol reported in literature which results in the production of a coagulant protein with molecular weight of about 7 kDa and isoelectric pH between 10 and 11 has been used. A number of techniques have been used to study the properties of this protein especially in aqueous solution and these include: surface tension1,2, UV-Vis spectroscopy3, densitometry3, fluorescence1,4,5, fourier transform infrared5, circular dichroism (CD)5, capillary viscometry6, amino acid composition and elemental analysis7, neutron reflection (NR)7, zeta potential8, turbidity8 and dynamic light scattering (DLS)8. The techniques have been able to elucidate structure (primary, secondary and tertiary), conformational states and physiochemical properties as function of microenvironment (i.e. pH, ionic strength and added surfactant). The adsorption of the protein on silicon oxide and the effects of an anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) were studied using NR data measured at ILL Grenoble (France) to determine the structure and composition of interfacial layers at the solid/solution interface. SDS was used as it is considered as a proxy for natural surfactants in ground water. NR data has shown shown that the purified protein binds in a dense layer to silica even at low concentrations. SDS co-adsorbs and does not significantly remove the adsorbed protein. The strong adsorption of protein, even in the presence of other surfactants, in combination with the tendency for the protein to associate suggests a mechanism for destabilizing particulate dispersions to provide filterable. Zeta potential provided the charge characteristics of the protein and identified points of charge reversal whereas turbidity and dynamic light scattering (DLS) measurements were used to characterise the microstructure and size of protein-surfactant complexes. Zeta potential, turbidity and DLS measurements were made at Uppsala University (Sweden).


Membrane Proteins: Molecular Mechanisms of Signal Transduction and Ion Transport

By Valentin Gordeliy (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


The Dioxygen Reduction and Proton Pumping Gate Mechanisms of Bovine Heart Cytochrome C Oxidase and recent progress in crystallization of Bovine Heart Cytochrome C Oxidase

By Shinya Yoshikawa (University of Hyogo, Japan)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Characterization of protein structure, dynamics and interactions using hydrogen/deuterium exchange associated with mass spectrometry

by Eric Forest (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Toxoplasma gondii: Etude du réseau de nanotubes membranaires de la vacuole parasitophore et des protéines GRA associées

By Amina Bittame (LAPM, Grenoble)

PhD Defence

 Amphithéâtre Boucherle, Fac de Médecine, La Tronche


Single particle cryo-EM studies of multimeric complexes involved in molecular quality control

By Hélène Malet (Birkbeck College, London)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Studying the phosphatase PRL-3 with the help of Chemical Biology

by Maja Köhn (EMBL Heidelberg, Germany)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Fast, Accurate and Flexible: High-Speed Frame-Transfer CCD X-ray Detectors

by Michael Blum (Rayonix, Evanston,USA)

ESRF seminar

 Room 500 - 501, ESRF Central Building

Visitors from off-site please contact Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27 to arrange for a gate pass.


The Exon Junction Complex differentially marks spliced mRNP

By Hervé Le Hir (Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room.


Coordination of membrane lipid biogenesis in photosynthetic cells

By Eric Marechal (CEA Grenoble)

ILL seminar

 CIBB seminar room

Abstract


Compaction et organisation du génome des gamètes

by Jérôme Govin (CEA GRenoble)

iRTSV seminar

 Amphitheatre Dautreppe

Afin de limiter votre attente si vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr ; une autorisation d’entrée sera établie avant votre arrivée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. Les auditeurs étrangers (hors CEE) sont invités àdemander cette autorisation d’entrée au moins une semaine avant la date du séminaire. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Proliferating under confinement: how geometrical and mechanical parameters affect cell division and cell migration

by Matthieu Piel (Institut Curie, Paris)

iRTSV seminar

 CEA Amphitheatre Dautreppe

 Afin de limiter votre attente si vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr ; une autorisation d’entrée sera établie avant votre arrivée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. Les auditeurs étrangers (hors CEE) sont invités àdemander cette autorisation d’entrée au moins une semaine avant la date du séminaire. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Comprehensive analysis of mammalian Circadian Clock

by Cyril Boyault (Institut Albert Bonniot)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Chromoproteins and Fluorescent Proteins: Understanding the interactions between the chromophore and the protein matrix.

By Daouda Traore (Monash University, Australia)

CIBB seminar

 CIBB seminar room

Fluorescent proteins and chromoproteins share a same fold that consists of an 11 strand beta-barrel. The chromophore, which is responsible for the optical properties of the protein, is located in the center the beta barrel. The aim of this study is to understand structural and optical properties driven by the interactions between the chromophore and protein matrix.
Enhanced consensus fluorescent protein (eCGP123 is an extremely thermostable green fluorescent protein that exhibits useful reversible photo switching properties. eCGP123 was derived by the application of both a consensus engineering approach and a recursive evolutionary process. We introduced mutations to the chromophore and the surrounding residues. Thus, we have been able to change eCGP123 from a bright fluorescent protein (QY=0.69) to Phanta, a virtually non-fluorescent (QY=0.0087). Here we present, the crystals structures and the spectral properties of wild type eCGP123 and its mutants.
The same approach was used to study the properties of Rtms1 and Rtms5, two chromoproteins isolated from the coral Montipora efflorescens. Interestingly, while both are virtually non fluorescent (QY = 0.001 and 0.007 respectively), Rtms1 can be photo activated. Variant of Rtms5 and Rtms1 were generated to understand the chemistry of chromophore formation. The crystals structures of Rtms1, Rtms5 and mutants also will be presented.


De l’intuition d’Einstein aux bits quantiques : vers une nouvelle révolution quantique ?

by Alain ASPECT (Institut d’Optique, Palaiseau)

Conference d’interet general

 Amphi. du LPSC, avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble,

For additional information, please contact mariane@lpsc.in2p3.fr.


Etudes structurales et fonctionnelles des ribosomes

by Bruno KLAHOLZ (Strasbourg, France)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Tomographie électronique et tomographie en perte d’énergie

by Sergio MARCO (Institut Curie, Paris)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Structural Biology of Small RNA-mediated Gene Regulation and Methylation-mediated Epigenetic Regulation.

Dinshaw Patel (Sloan-Kettering Institute, USA)

PSB seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

Webpage of D. Patel


invited by Ramesh Pillai (EMBL)


Molecular alterations in tight junction signalling pathway in the jejunal mucosa are associated with mucosal pathobiology and clinical manifestations in diarrhoea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome.

By Cristina Martinez (Barcelona, Spain)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Oligodendroglial membrane traffic in myelin biogenesis and axon-glia interaction: the role of endosomal transport and exosome secretion

By Eva-Maria Krämer-Albers (Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz)

GIN seminar

 Salle de conférences, Grenoble Institut des Neurosciences (GIN)

CNS myelination of axons by oligodendrocytes requires timely and spatially controlled transport of myelin membrane components adapted to axonal specifications. Furthermore, the integrity of myelinated axons depends on glial-derived support that remains unresolved in its molecular nature. We are studying myelin membrane trafficking pathways and their control by axon-glia interaction. The major myelin membrane protein PLP is enriched in late endosomal compartments with the appearance of multivesicular bodies (MVB) and surface transport of PLP is controlled by the endosomal R-SNAREs VAMP3/cellubrevin and VAMP7/TI-VAMP. MVB fusion with the oligodendroglial plasma membrane results in secretion of intraluminal vesicels into the extracellular space, then termed exosomes. These exosomes contain PLP in addition to a typical pattern of exosomal proteins as well as mRNA and microRNA. Intriguingly, oligodendroglial exosome release is stimulated by the neurotransmitter glutamate, indicating that neuronal electrical activity controls glial exosome release. We further analyzed the putative transfer of oligodendroglial exosomes to other neural cells and found them specifically internalized by microglial cells and cortical neurons. Neuronal exosome uptake appears to be mediated by clathrin-dependent endocytosis. Furthermore, preliminary experiments demonstrate that neurons exposed to exosomes exhibit distinct modifications of the neuronal metabolism. In addition to neuroimmunological implications, oligodendroglial exosome secretion thus appears to represent a mechanism of bidirectional communication between neurons and oligodendrocytes and may contribute to the neurotrophic function of myelinating glial cells.


Structure and function in solvent-free protein liquids

By Adam Perriman (University of Bristol)

ILL seminar

 EMBL seminar room.

Water is synonymous with life, and accordingly, biological macromolecules such as proteins have evolved to utilise the ensemble of forces that arise in an aqueous environment. Such forces help to drive protein folding and modulate dynamical behaviour, which in turn facilitate biological function. Although some proteins can retain some enzymatic activity when extracted into anhydrous solvents1, we have demonstrated that completely solvent-free (molten) functional protein liquids can be produced by modifying the surface of a protein with a polymer surfactant. The electrostatically-grafted surfactant molecules act to extend the range of the intermolecular interactions, which allows the protein molecules to access an anhydrous liquid phase that is amenable to protein folding and function. This was exemplified by producing a room-temperature solvent-free myoglobin liquid, where circular dichroism (CD) and attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectra revealed significant levels of secondary structure, and diffuse reflectance UV-visible spectroscopy (DR-UV-vis) showed a 6-coordinate geometry for the haem prosthetic group.2 Moreover, protein function was demonstrated through gas-binding experiments in which reversible oxygen binding was observed with a binding affinity equivalent to the native haem protein under physiological conditions. We then extended the methodology to include a solvent-free protein liquid based on an equine ferritin–surfactant construct. Significantly, the spheroidal nano-constructs undergo anisotropic ordering during melting at 30°C to produce a viscoelastic protein liquid that exhibits thermotropic liquid-crystalline behaviour, and which subsequently transforms to a Newtonian fluid at temperatures above 40°C.3

These findings present a significant challenge to existing theories on the role of water molecules in determining protein structure and function, and the robustness of this facile approach for achieving protein fluidity indicates that it could readily be developed for a wide range of biologically derived nanostructures.

References

1. Clark, D. S. Characteristics of nearly dry enzymes in organic solvents: implications for biocatalysis in the absence of water. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. London Ser. B 2004, 359, 1299-1307.

2. Perriman, A. W.; Brogan, A. P. S.; Colfen, H.; Tsoureas, N.; Owen, G. R.; Mann, S., Reversible dioxygen binding in solvent-free liquid myoglobin. Nature Chemistry 2010, 2 (8), 622-626.

3. Perriman, A. W.; Colfen, H.; Hughes, R. W.; Barrie, C. L.; Mann, S., Solvent-Free Protein Liquids and Liquid Crystals. Angewandte Chemie-International Edition 2009, 48 (34), 6242-6246.


Exploring yeast deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs): Novel modes of regulation and functions revealed by systematic localization and proteomics screen.

By KOURANTI Ilektra (Vanderbilt University, Nashville, USA)

IrTSV seminar

 Room: C3-104 (CEA)

 Afin de limiter votre attente si vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, contactez Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr ; une autorisation d’entrée sera établie avant votre arrivée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. Les auditeurs étrangers (hors CEE) sont invités àdemander cette autorisation d’entrée au moins une semaine avant la date du séminaire. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Crystal structures of bacterial and yeast ribosomes.

by Marat Yusupov (IGBMC, Illkirch)

PSB seminar

  ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre

Abstract: The crystal structure of the yeast 80S ribosome determined at 4.15 Ã… resolution reveals the higher complexity of eukaryotic ribosomes, which are 40% larger than their bacterial counterparts. Our crystals capture the ribosome in the ratcheted state which is essential for translocation of mRNA and tRNA and where the small ribosomal subunit has rotated with respect to the large subunit. We describe the conformational changes in both ribosomal subunits that are involved in ratcheting, and their implications to mRNA and tRNA translocation. Structural rearrangements of the ribosome in the tRNA binding step have been studied on bacterial ribosome model. Discrimination of tRNA on the ribosome occurs in two consecutive steps: initial selection and proofreading. We propose a proofreading mechanism based on comparison of crystal structures of the 70S ribosome with an empty A site or the A site occupied by cognate or non-cognate tRNA. We have shown involvement of tales of ribosomal proteins in stabilization of correct tRNA on the ribosome. We suggest that proofreading begins with stabilization of tRNA anticodon loop with involvement of magnesium ions, following by stabilization of elbow region and accommodation of the acceptor end in the peptidyl transferase center.


Heme, the “master exogenous regulator†of respiration metabolism in lactic acid bacteria

By Alexandra Gruss (INRA, Jouy en Josas)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) are a phylogenetically diverse group, comprising starter
bacteria for food fermentations and also opportunist pathogens. A little known attribute
of numerous LAB is that they are genetically equipped for aerobic respiration metabolism
when provided with exogenous sources of heme (and menaquinones for some species).
Respiration metabolism is energetically favorable and leads to decreased oxidative and
acid stress during growth of some LAB, and consequently, dramatically improved growth
and survival. Respiration metabolism has industrial applications for the preparation of dairy
starter cultures, and we suspect that it is part of the natural lifestyle of numerous LAB.
The intracellular heme interactants and factors of heme homeostasis in two LAB models,
Lactococcus lactis and Streptococcus agalactiae, will be presented


Development of chemical tools to study intracellular O-glycosylation"

By David VOCADLO (Simon Fraser University, Canada)

CERMAV Seminar

 CERMAV Seminar Room: salle Chartreuse

Here we describe the enzymology and metabolic pathways underpinning the design of chemical tools that can be used to probe intracellular O-glycosylation. We discuss the use of some of these tools in the cellular setting, as well as in vivo, and touch on the general utility of these probes to study intracellular O-glycosylation.

Contact: A. VARROT (varrot@cermav.cnrs.fr)


Understanding specific signaling interactons and downstream phenotypes through branch pruning

By Julia Burnier (Centre for Genomic Regulation, Barcelona)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Recent developments in laboratory and synchrotron based X-ray microscopy at Xradia

By Benjamin Hornberger (Xradia Inc., USA)

ESRF Seminar

 Auditorium, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Lynda Graham tel +33 (0)476 88-21-92.


How do proteins evolve ?

By Dan Tawfik (Weizman Institut, Israel)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

In spite the robustness and perfection of their mechanism of action, proteins posses a
remarkable ability to rapidly change and adopt new functions. I will describe experimental
work aimed at reproducing the evolution of new proteins in the laboratory, and unraveling
their traits of evolvability. I will show structural work aimed at better understanding the
mechanisms by which proteins change. Specifically, I will describe how the functional
promiscuity of proteins, their conformational plasticity, and their modularity of fold,
accelerate their evolution.


HDR Defence:Héparanes sulfate: Structure, fonctions, régulation

By Romain Vives (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Mapping of the Protein Universe : One Cell at a Time

iRTSV Seminar

Par Dorit Hanein – Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute La Jolla, CA

Room at the entry site of the CEA


Biomolecular NMR Mini-symposium

IBS Mini-symposium

by
 Pr. J. CHOU (Harvard medical School, Boston), expert in structural studies of membrane proteins in solution,
 Pr. M. KAINSHO (Tokyo Metropolitan University), One of the pioneer in the field of Cell-free expression and isotopic labelling of protein
 and Pr. S. VAN DOREN (University of Missouri , Columbia) , specialist in the studies of protein-protein interaction involved in arthrosclerosis and Cancer diseases.

Hosted by J. Boisbouvier & B. Brutscher. (IBS/NMR)

IBS Seminar room


“Lanthanid based nano-hybrid particles for theranostic applications

By Olivier TILLEMENT (Université de Lyon I)

CEA/SCIB Seminar

 CEA - Salle C5-421A, INAC/SCIB,

Contact: Jean-Luc Ravanat : 04.38.78.47.97


Hard and soft x-ray tomography at the Advanced Light Source

By Dilworth Y. Parkinson (Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory)

ESRF seminar

 CTRM Control Room


Host/lentivirus interactions: from pathogenesis to a vaccine

By Yahia Chebloune (Institut Jean Roget)

UVHCI Seminar

 CIBB seminar


La supraconductivité àtravers un siècle

By Julius RANNINGER (MCBT, Institut Néel)

Conference LPSC

Conférence d’Intérêt Général

 Amphitheatre du LPSC, avenue des Martyrs, Grenoble,

 Contact: mariane@lpsc.in2p3.fr


The mechanism of sodium and substrate release from the binding pocket of vSGLT

By Jeff Abramson (UCLA, USA)

PSB Seminar

 IBS seminar room

Membrane co-transport proteins that utilize a 5-helix inverted repeat motif have recently
emerged as one of the largest structural classes of secondary active transporters. I
will discuss a comprehensive study of the Sodium-Galactose Transporter from Vibrio
parahaemolyticus (vSGLT) consisting of multiple structures, molecular dynamics simulations
and biochemical characterization. Our data show that sodium exit causes a reorientation
of transmembrane helix 1 (TM1) opening an inner gate required for substrate exit. This
cascade of events, initiated by sodium release, ensures proper timing of ion and substrate
release. Once set in motion, these molecular changes weaken substrate binding to the
transporter and allow galactose to readily enter the intracellular space. These events
appear to be constant in the other sodium dependent 5-helix inverted repeat members.


Comment les bactéries adaptent leur croissance àleurs ressources: mécanismes de contrôle de la concentration en ppGpp par l’enzyme bifonctionnelle SpoT et le métabolisme des lipides.

By Emmanuelle Bouveret (Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Marseille)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Heparan sulfate proteoglycans serve as docking platforms for growth factors in experimental renal transplantation

By Jacob van der Born (University Medical Center Groningen, Netherlands)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Depending on the glycan structure, proteoglycans (PGs) can act as (co-)receptors for growth
factors and chemokines thereby contributing to cell recruitment, proliferation and fibrosis. Chronic
transplant dysfunction (CTD) is characterized by extensive tissue remodeling and an interstitial
infiltrate. We hypothesized that alterations in expressions of PGs and their ligands orchestrate
tissue remodeling in CTD. Therefore, we studied proteoglycan and growth factor expression in a rat
renal transplantation model. In contrast to non-transplanted and isografted kidneys, allografted
kidneys developed severe CTD evidenced by routine histology. Laser dissection microscopy of
glomeruli and tubulo-interstitium separately followed by low density qPCR revealed uniform
upregulation for TGF-β1, Collagen I and IV confirming fibrosis in CTD kidneys. However, we found
spatial differences in PGs expression and ligand binding properties. In affected glomeruli of CTD
kidneys we found a 4 fold induction of the matrix heparan sulfate (HS)PG perlecan along with
massive accumulation of FGF2. The functional significance of these findings is evidenced by in vitro
experiments with rat mesangial cells showing that FGF2-induced proliferation (2-3 fold increase)
is sulfation dependent and can be inhibited by exogenous HS. Tubulo-interstitial remodeling in
the allografts was characterized by a 5 fold induction of the cell surface HSPG syndecan-1 and
associated with co-localization of HB-EGF and phospho-EGFR. Profiling the HS polysaccharide side
chains of renal HSPGs reveals conversion of a quiescent HS phenotype in control and isografted
kidneys towards a more pro-remodeling HS phenotype in the allografts. These data indicate that
HSPGs such as perlecan and syndecan-1 serve as docking platforms for growth factors in the
various renal compartments during CTD. We speculate that heparin-like glycomimetica could serve
as a promising intervention modality to retard development of CTD.


Single-molecule super-resolution microscopy studies of DNA segregation

by Marcelo Nollmann (Centre de Biochimie Structurale, CNRS Montpellier)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


The polysaccharide intercellular adhesin and bacterial biofilm formation

by Mark Nitz (Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Biofilms are sessile communities of bacteria that adhere to biotic and abiotic surfaces. The
formation of bacterial biofilms requires an extracellular matrix to facilitate adherence of
bacteria to the surface they colonize. A wide variety of medically important biofilm-forming
bacterial strains, including S. epidermidis, S. aureus, E. coli, B. pertussis, and Y. pestis
generate the same β(1-6)-N-acetylglucosamine (PNAG) homopolymer as a key biofilm
matrix exopolysaccharide. In these bacterial strains PNAG undergoes partial enzymatic
de-N-acetylation, which is essential for polysaccharide export and surface attachment. In
vivo studies have implied that the enzyme responsible for carrying out de-N-acetylation in
E. coli is PgaB, an enzyme which has sequence homologues in gram-negative species that
form PNAG-dependent biofilms. This seminar will discuss the synthesis, properties and
functionalization of PNAG. The enzymatic activity, metal dependence, structure and initial
results of inhibitor development against PgaB will also be discussed.
Hôte


Chaperones and other less-evolved IDPs.

by Peter Tompa (Institute of Enzymology, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Budapest)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Structurally disordered proteins (IDPs) can be classified into six functional categories [1]. Based mainly on bioinformatic analysis, we have suggested a couple of years ago that disordered regions of traditional chaperones or even fully disordered proteins can have potent chaperone activity, probably by an “entropy transfer†mechanism [2]. To carry out detailed structure-function analysis of this phenomenon, we studied two dehydrins of A. thaliana, ERD10 and 14, and show that they are potent chaperones. To address the structural background of this effect, we carried out full NMR resonance assignment of the 185 amino acid-long ERD14. Secondary chemical shift and relaxation data show that this IDP is not fully disordered, but have five short regions of somewhat restricted flexibility. In-cell NMR of ERD14 overexpressed in E. coli shows that three of these regions (conserved K-segments) undergo further ordering. Overexpressed ERD14 provides significant protection to cells against stress conditions elicited by various means (unpublished observations). These observations on IDP function are also put in the general context of the evolution of IDP function, by showing that certain IDP functions do not require long evolution refinement, but may suddenly arise in the cell. Two further such mechanisms will be discussed, chromosomal translocations in cancer [3] and the shift in the translation frame caused by alternative splicing [4]. All these results suggest that structural disorder enables IDPs to exist and function in the cell without the involvement of a lengthy evolutionary selection procedure. The evolutionary, functional and pathological implications of this observation will be discussed in detail.

  • 1. Tompa, P., Structure and function of intrinsically disordered proteins. 2009, Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press (Taylor and Francis Group).
  • 2. Tompa, P. and P. Csermely, The role of structural disorder in the function of RNA and protein chaperones. FASEB J., 2004. 18(11): p. 1169-75.
  • 3. Hegyi, H., L. Buday, and P. Tompa, Intrinsic structural disorder confers cellular viability on oncogenic fusion proteins. PLoS Comput Biol, 2009. 5(10): p. e1000552.
  • 4. Kovacs, E., et al., Dual coding in alternative reading frames correlates with intrinsic protein disorder. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A, 2010. 107(12): p. 5429-34.

tompa@enzim.hu
http://tompa.enzim.hu


On the way to solve the puzzle of lipoprotein structures with special focus on low density lipoprotein

by Ruth Prassl (Institute of Biophysics and Nanosystems Research, Graz, Austria)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Lipoprotein particles are naturally occurring nanostructures in the blood stream entrusted
with the task of delivering cholesterol and energy-rich fat to and from tissues and cells. As
major lipid transporters, lipoproteins are also involved in the progression of cardiovascular
diseases such as atherosclerosis or stroke, which are among the most prevalent causes
of death in developed countries. Among pro-atherogenic lipoprotein classes are low
density lipoproteins (LDL), which are about 20 nm in size consisting of an apolar core
filled with triglycerides and cholesterylesters surrounded by a phospholipid monolayer,
free cholesterol and one single molecule of apolipoprotein B100 (apoB100). ApoB100 is
amongst the largest amphiphilic glycoproteins known and its structure is an important
determinant for cellular uptake.
A range of biophysical techniques have been applied to obtain structural information on
apoB00/LDL, and only the combination of all results has lead to our current understanding
of lipoprotein structure. Unfortunately, molecular structure determinations, in particular by
X-ray crystallography or e.m. reconstruction, are hampered by the intrinsic conformational
flexibility, dynamics and variablity of both, apoB100 and LDL particles.
In this talk I will present recent advances in structural studies on LDL and apoB100.
Prevailing conceptions of the molecular assembly of LDL will be shown, and finally, how the
synergy of complementary biochemical, biophysical and molecular simulation approaches
has lead to the current structural model of LDL.


Structural disorder within the replicative complex of paramyxoviruses

By Sonia Longhi (AFMB, Marseille)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

In the last decade there has been an increasing amount of experimental and computational evidence pointing out that eukaryotic genomes code for a high proportion of intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). IDPs are ubiquitary functional proteins that lack stable II and III structures under physiological conditions in the absence of a partner and that rather exist as conformational ensembles. IDPs are often involved in biological processes implying manifold protein-protein interactions, such as cellular regulation, transcription and signal transduction.
In the course of the structural and functional characterization of the measles virus replicative complex, we discovered that the nucleoprotein (N) and the phosphoprotein (P) contain long disordered regions possessing sequence and biochemical features that typify IDPs. Subsequently, we have extended these results to the N and P proteins from other paramyxoviruses. My talk will focus on the identification and characterization of disordered regions of the N and P proteins, as well as onto the interactions that they establish with their partners. Finally, I will discuss the functional implications of disorder within the replicative complex of these viruses.


Propriétés dynamiques et structurales des microtubules :rôle des protéines associées

By Isabelle Arnal (Institut des Neurosciences, Grenoble)

IAB seminar

 Salle de conférence de l’Institut Albert Bonniot,
Rond Point de La Chantourne, 38700 La Tronche (arrêt de tram Grand Sablon, ligne B).

Les microtubules représentent un élément majeur du cytosquelette eucaryote et jouent
un rôle central dans la division, la motilité et la morphogenèse cellulaires. Ils sont
particulièrement abondants dans les neurones, où ils participent àla polarisation et à
l’activité de ces cellules. Les microtubules assurent leurs fonctions grâce àleurs
propriétés structurales et dynamiques qui sont contrôlées dans la cellule par de
nombreuses protéines appelées MAPs (Microtubule Associated Proteins). Notre projet
principal est l’étude des bases moléculaires de la régulation des microtubules par les
MAPs impliquées dans la différentiation neuronale. Nous nous proposons d’analyser les
propriétés dynamiques et l’arrangement spatial des microtubules àl’aide de techniques
d’imagerie photonique dans des systèmes simples reconstitués àpartir de composants
purifiés, ainsi que dans des modèles de différentiation cellulaire. En parallèle, des
méthodes de cryo-microscopie et cryo-tomographie électronique seront utilisées afin
d’obtenir des reconstructions tridimensionnelles de complexes macromoléculaires en
solution et dans leur environnement cellulaire natif. Nous visualiserons ainsi comment
les MAPs étudiées interagissent avec les microtubules et affectent la structure de ces
polymères. Cette approche corrélant microscopie optique et microscopie électronique,
et appliquée àdes systèmes de complexité croissante, devrait permettre de comprendre
àun niveau moléculaire l’organisation du cytosquelette par un réseau de MAPs au
cours de la différentiation neuronale.


Nuclear import and export of Chikungunya virus capsid protein.

By Thomas Saijo (University of Rostock, Germany)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Trying to make sense of all that nonsense (-mediated mRNA decay).

By Oliver Muehlemann (University of Bern, Switzerland)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


The ‘pumping mechanism’ of the Ca2+-ATPase revealed through multiple x-ray crystallography structures

By Claus Olesen (Aarhus University, Denmark)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD Defence: The MILI/mHEN1 complex and functional studies of DrTDRD1 and DrMOV10L

By Stefanie Eckhardt (EMBL)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Structural insights into p53 signaling

By Hector Viadiu (UCSD, USA)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room

> p53 is a multi-domain protein central to a complex network of signaling pathways that organize the cellular response to stress. During the cellular response to stress, p53 can activate more than 100 genes in the DNA repair, cell arrest, senescence and apoptotic pathways. In the nucleus of normal cells, p53 binds to its responsive DNA elements and acts as a transcription factor. p53 has been broadly studied because is the protein most commonly mutated in cancerous cells with about 50% of human tumors having a mutation on the p53 gene. Nonetheless, a gap exists in our knowledge of p53 structure because we do not understand how p53 domains interact with each other to explain p53’s diverse functions and regulations. In our work, using electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography we are aiming to understand the structure of full-length p53 and how its activity its regulated by its binding partners.
>


Modulation of apoptosis signalling by proteasome inhibition: a single cell analysis†.

By Maike Laußmann (University College Dublin, Ireland)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Structural dissection of Salmonella’s type III secretion needle complex

By Oliver Schraidt (Austrian Academy of Sciences, Austria)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Régulation du médiateur de la réponse aux dommages de S. cerevisae

By Muriel Grenon (National University of Ireland)

IRTSV seminars

 CEA - room C3-104
please contact odile.rossignol@cea.fr for a site entry


PhD defence: Functional studies on piRNA pathway components MOV10L1 and FKBP6

By Jordi Xiol (EMBL, Grenoble)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


The 3D architextures of Listeria Comet tail by Cryo Electron Tomography

By Marion Jasnin (MPI, Martinsried, Germany)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Secretion of the dengue virus NS1 lipoprotein: A journey into the extracellular space

By Marie Flamand (Institut Pasteur, Paris)

UVHCI seminar

 CIBB seminar room

The ins and outs of NS1 nonstructural lipoprotein secretion during dengue virus infections

Dengue virus (DENV) is the major vector-borne viral disease of the tropics, leading to over half a million hospitalization per year and tens of thousand deaths. DENV infection is characterized in its most severe form by signs of hemorrhage and plasma leakage, to which a risk of fatal hypovolemic shock is associated. DENV encodes a nonstructural glycoprotein NS1 that associates with intracellular membranes and the cell surface. NS1 is eventually secreted as a soluble hexamer from DENV-infected cells and circulates in the bloodstream of infected patients, representing a potent diagnostic marker of acute DENV infections. Extracellular NS1 has been shown to modulate the complement system and to enhance DENV infection, yet its structure and function remained essentially unknown. By combining cryoelectron microscopy analysis with a characterization of NS1 amphipathic properties, we show that the secreted NS1 hexamer forms a lipoprotein particle with an open-barrel protein shell and a prominent central channel rich in lipids. Biochemical and NMR analyses of the NS1 lipid cargo reveal the presence of triglycerides, bound at an equimolar ratio to the NS1 protomer, as well as cholesteryl esters and phospholipids, a composition evocative of the plasma lipoproteins involved in vascular homeostasis. This study suggests that DENV NS1, by mimicking or hijacking lipid metabolic pathways, contributes to endothelium dysfunction, a cardinal feature of severe dengue disease. These findings open promising alternative therapeutic avenues to fight dengue disease, such as interfering with NS1 secretion or targeting its hydrophobic channel.


The curious tale (tail) of the CD95/Fas death receptor

By Paul Driscoll (National Institute for Medical Research, London)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room.

Following engagement of the cell surface CD95 (Fas/APO-1) programmed cell
death receptor by its ligand, the apoptotic signalling pathway depends on an initial
interaction between the the C-terminal death domain of the receptor and the adaptor
protein FADD, followed by the recruitment and activation of procaspase-8/10 into
the death-inducing signalling complex (DISC). The composition, structure and
mechanism of formation for the DISC has been the subject of extensive investigation.
I will describe our contributions to this endeavour using, amongst other techniques,
methyl-TROSY NMR spectroscopy. I will also discuss more broadly the potential for
structural plasticity of the CD95 death domain implied by results from cell biology
and biochemical experiments.


La simulation moléculaire: une nouvelle arme contre la dengue

By Léo Degrève (Université de São Paulo, Groupe de simulation moléculaire, Brésil)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room.

La dengue, décrite comme une « grippe tropicale » depuis le XVIIIe siècle, est une maladie
virale transmise àl’homme par des moustiques du genre Aedes. Les formes graves de la
maladie sont la dengue hémorragique et la dengue avec syndrome de choc qui peuvent
s’avérer mortelles. L’incidence de la dengue progresse actuellement de manière très
importante au niveau mondial. L’OMS estime à50 millions le nombre de cas annuels, dont
500 000 cas de dengue hémorragique qui, faute de traitement, peuvent être mortels dans
20% des cas. Il n’existe pas encore de vaccin contre la dengue.
Le virus de la dengue appartient au genre flavivirus qui sont des virus àARN, de capside
en forme d’icosaèdre, dont l’enveloppe mesure de 40 à50nm de diamètre. Cette enveloppe
est formée par une protéine de membrane, et par près d’une centaine de dimères d’une
protéine d’enveloppe, la protéine E, qui contient le peptide fusion et qui n’est fonctionnelle
que sous une forme trimérique. La fusion du virus est une étape fondamentale pour qu’il
puisse pénétrer dans une cellule.
Le trimère de la protéine E a été étudié par des techniques de simulation moléculaire
sous diverses conditions de force ionique en pH acide. Les premiers résultats d’études du
trimère, obtenus au long de simulations de 350 ns, montrent que la reconstruction de la
protéine àpartir des données de cryo-microscopie électronique est stable. On a aussi pu
identifier une poche dans la région du point de rencontre des trois monomères, poche qui
semble être un excellent candidat comme cible dans la recherche d’inhibiteurs de l’activité
de cette protéine clef.


The Amylome

By David Eisenberg (UCLA)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

The amylome is the universe of proteins that are capable of forming
amyloid-like fibrils. The factors that enable a protein to belong
to the amylome will be discussed, including sequence complementarity,
structural flexibility, and the features of proteins
that make them self-chaperones. The structure-based design of
amyloid blockers will be described, along with structures of small
molecules bound to fibers. The nature of some classes of small
amyloid oligomers will be discussed.


The first X-ray structure of a DNA light switch ruthenium complex

By Christine Cardin & Hakan Niyazi (University of Reading, UK)

ILL seminar

We have determined at 1.1 A resolution the structure of the ruthenium complex lambda-[Ru(TAP)2(dppz)]2+ bound to the DNA oligonucleotide d(TCGGCGCCGA) in the presence of barium ions. In the absence of the ruthenium complex, crystals of the stacked-X Holliday junction would be formed. In the presence of the ruthenium complex, both intercalation and semi-intercalation are observed, thus non-covalently linking two duplexes and creating a kink in the duplex at the semi-intercalation site.

This is the first crystal structure determination of any of the ruthenium ‘light-switch’ complexes, more than twenty five years after the ‘light-switch’ phenomenon was first recorded. The crystallisation is completely enantiomerically specific.

The talk will include a description of three crystal forms, showing three different degrees of bending, together with differing arrangements of the terminal AT basepair.


External visitors may ask for a site access to Karine Sultan (sultan@ill.fr).


“Mechanical regulation of the cytoskeletonâ€

By Daniel A. FLETCHER (UC Berkeley)

IRTSV seminar

Accueil CEA Grenoble
please contact odile.rossignol@cea.fr


L’effet anticancéreux du sélénium : étude de son rôle dans l’activité de réparation de l’ADN et la résistance au stress oxydantâ€

By Viviana DE ROSA (CEA GRenoble)

CEA Seminar

CEA Grenoble, Salle C5-421A, (contact thierry.douki@cea.fr)


Research Complex at Harwell

By Simon Phillips (director of RCaH, UK)

CIBB seminar

 CIBB seminar room


It will not work and nobody needs it: Random digressions about third reviewers, Goldman-Sachs and academia, crystallography, robotic systems, their connection, and other annoying facets of life.

By Bernhard Rupp (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, USA)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


HDR Defence: Spectroscopies optiques in cristallo : des outils complémentaires pour la Biologie Structurale

By Antoine Royant (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Highly stable polymeric lipid membranes – applications in sensors and beyond

By Craig A. Aspinwall (University of Arizona, USA)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Utilization of membrane proteins in chemical sensors presents a wide range of opportunities
for the design of analyte specific chemical and biological sensing platforms. Functional
inclusion of membrane proteins in sensors requires the incorporation of a lipid membrane
with sufficient lifetime to facilitate sensor utilization. Unfortunately, most natural lipids lack
the requisite stability to meet these requirements. We have developed a series of highlystable
polymer lipid membranes that support the activity of ion channels and membrane
receptors for spectroscopic and electrophysiological analysis. Membrane lifetimes in excess
of one month that support transmembrane protein activity for up to one week have been
prepared. In this seminar, we will explore the preparation, characterization and potential
applications of highly stable lipid membranes.


Scientific Opportunities of the Taiwan Photon Source

By Di-Jing Huang (Deputy Director of the NSRRC, Taiwan)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Auditorium

Abstract : http://www.esrf.fr/events/Seminars/di-jing-huang22july2011


Goals and Roadmap for a Successful Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter

by Diego Pontoni (ESRF Structure of Materials Group)

ESRF seminar

 room 500 - 501, ESRF Central Building

The Partnership for Soft Condensed Matter (PSCM) was recently established [1] with the goal of
combining cutting-edge experiments performed at new state-of-the-art nuclear-reactor and synchrotron
beamlines with the on-site availability of sample preparation facilities, complementary sample
characterization techniques, and specialized sample environments. Such an approach is particularly wellsuited
due to the rapidly growing interest for out-of-equilibrium and transient states found in novel
complex fluids and meso-scale soft and composite materials. The latter often need to be prepared and
characterized just prior to neutron/x-ray experiments. In addition, a meaningful interpretation of the
detailed atomic/molecular scale information provided by neutron/x-ray probes can often be reached only
in combination with supportive data from complementary techniques such as light scattering, tensiometry,
rheology, microscopy, ellipsometry, calorimetry, etc.
Recent examples of in-house and user-driven x-ray studies of soft and hard surfaces and interfaces
[2-8] will be used to illustrate the multiple ways in which the PSCM can favor and strengthen synergistic
interactions among the on-campus members and the external representatives of the European Soft-Matter
community, thus leading to enhanced quality and scope of the user support services. This will enable the
implementation of new ambitious research collaborations with world-leading Soft-Matter groups. The
success of these collaborations will depend on the ability of the PSCM to draw on the vast human and
technical resources of the EPN Campus, and to manage concerted research efforts reaching beyond what
is usually available to individual University Labs and Industrial R&D Units. The PSCM will thus succeed
in attracting to the field new brilliant young researchers, and in providing a center where new cuttingedge
Soft-Matter Science can nucleate and grow.
The PSCM will allow expanding and deepening the ongoing investigations of the fundamental
physical and chemical phenomena that govern the bulk and interfacial structure and dynamics of soft
materials, comprising micro- and nano-particles, polymers and hierarchical multi-length-scale structures,
synthetic and natural macromolecules, and combinations thereof.
In parallel to fostering fundamental science, the PSCM will also promote applied and industrial
research programs aimed at developing the next generation of smart multi-functional nanomaterials and
self-assembled multi-component nano-devices of interest for example to the information-technology,
health, and energy sectors, thus leading the path towards the green, sustainable, and knowledge-based
economy of the future.
In this talk, a few examples of my recent research activities will be shortly presented as a means to
introduce and discuss the strategy needed to achieve the overall PSCM goals outlined above.


Structural Diversity of G Protein-Coupled Receptors

by Vadim Cherezov (Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla,USA)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Stress and nutrition in F. tularensis pathogenesis

By Alain Charbit (univ. Paris Descartes, Paris)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


The ins and the outs of Electron Microscopy in Cell Biology

By Jean-Marc Verbavatz (Max Planck Institut, Dresden)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

For decades, electron microscopy (EM) has been the method of choice to study intracellular
structures. Yet, traditional EM has numerous shortcomings, which have gradually restricted
it’s use in cell biology. Recently, numerous approaches were developed to overcome EM
weaknesses. Are we getting there yet ? I’ll use projects i have been working on to illustrate
the ins and outs of electron microscopy in cell biology and where i believe it is going.


Structure 3D de DprA, proteine cle de la transformation genetique naturelle chez S. Pneumoniae

By Sophie Cheruel (IBBMC, Orsay)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Third generation genetically encoded FRET probes based on FLIM screening and exploiting photochromicity

By Theodorus Gadella (University of Amsterdam, Netherlands)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Protein recognition and functional mechanisms of non-coding RNAs

By Teresa Carlomagno (EMBL, Heidelberg)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Insights into protein structure and function from two-photon polarization microscopy

By Josef Lazar (Inst. Nanobiology & Structural Biology, Global Change Research Centre, Nove Hrady, Czech Republic)

ESRF seminar

 CIBB seminar room.

Abstract

Visitors from off-site please contact Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27 to arrange for a gate pass.


Structural and functional role of INI1 in the early step of HIV-1 infection

By Benoît MAILLOT (IGBMC, Strasbourg)

ESRF seminar

 room 500 - 501, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Malaria: the plant connection

By Goeffrey McFadden (University of Melbourne - Australia)

IRTSV seminar

 Salle d’accueil CEA.

To request a badge, please contact Odile Rossignol (04 38 78 45 63, odile.rossignol@cea.fr) with the following data
 date/city/country of birth
 Nationality.


Stalk cell identity in angiogenic sprouts depends on integration of notch and smad1/5 signaling cascades

By An Zwijsen (Center for Human Genetics, Leuven - Belgium

IRTSV seminar

 Amphitheatre DAUTREPPE - CEA.

To request a badge, please contact Odile Rossignol (04 38 78 45 63, odile.rossignol@ces.fr) with the following data
 date/city/country of birth
 Nationality.


Structural studies of DNA minor groove binding drugs

By Deeksha Munnur (University of London; ILL & ESRF)

ESRF seminar

 in room 407, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Instrumentation meets structural biology: exploiting HC1 capabilities

By Silvia RUSSI (EMBL Grenoble Outstation)

ESRF seminar

 in room 500 - 501, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Tris-dipicolinate lanthanide: a luminescent complex to solve protein structures using anomalous diffraction

By Guillaume POMPIDOR (Swiss Light Source, Switzerland)

ESRF seminar

 in room 337, ESRF Central Building

Abstract

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Claudine Romero tel +33 (0)476 88-20-27.


Toxoplasma gondii: Macrophage activation by glycosylphosphatidylinositols

By Françoise DEBIERRE-GROCKIEGO (UFR Sciences Pharmaceutiques, Tours)

Jean Roget Seminar

 Lieu: Institut Jean Roget, Salle de Conférence du 5ème Etage,
Faculté de Médecine-Pharmacie, Domaine de la Merci, La Tronche.

Contact: Cordelia.Bisanz@ujf-grenoble.fr, Tel : 04 76 63 74 74


The Virtues of Disorder in the- Structural Biology of Dynein Cargo Domain

By Elisar Barbar (EMBL sabbatical visitor - State University of Oregon, USA)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Structural biology in Pharma- past, present and future

By Onkar singh (GlaxoSmithKline, UK)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF Auditorium

Onkar Singh has spent 25 years in pharma, he started off working on large scale protein folding and then moved into macromolecular crystallography slowly as MX became an integral part of the drug discovery. GSK were probably one of the first companies in the UK to start using x-ray crystallography routinely. He has worked on many key target classes (taken from initial biology to many complexed structures) kinases, viral and mammalian proteases, flu neuraminidase, viral RNA polymerases, bacterial DNA gyrase etc a long list of drug targets including some membrane protein targets.

The membrane proteins he has worked on are essentially membrane associated with the hydrophobic regions deleted but still require understanding of detergent requirements. Has has also worked with ion channels and GPCRs.

In Pharma the key aim is to develop reproducible crystal systems to determine not one but 100s of complexed structures.


PhD defence: Recalage flexible des modeles moleculaires dans les reconstructions 3D de microscopie electronique

By Gael Goret (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Probing the Structures of Muscle Regulatory Proteins using Small-Angle Scattering and Contrast variation

By Jill Trewhella (University of Sydney, Australia)

PSB seminar

 ILL Chadwick Amphitheatre.

Small-angle X-ray and neutron scattering with contrast variation have made important contributions in advancing our understanding muscle regulatory protein structures in the context of the dynamic molecular processes governing muscle action (1). The contributions of the scattering investigations have depended upon the results of key crystallographic, NMR and electron microscopy results that have provided detailed structural information that has aided in the interpretation of the scattering data. This talk will cover the advances made using small-angle scattering techniques, in combination with the results from these complementary techniques, in probing the structures of troponin and myosin binding protein C (MyBP-C). A focus of these studies has been to elucidate isoform and species differences between these muscle proteins and the relationship between structural and functional differences. In the case of MyBP-C, neutron scattering with contrast variation (2) has played a critical role in shifting the view of the community from a ‘myosin-centric’ model of MyBP-C function toward one involving a model of regulation involving specific actin interactions. Significant data are accumulating indicating that cMyBP-C may act to modulate the primary calcium signals from troponin, and our most recent electron microscopy and NMR studies have added important details to this emerging picture (3, 4). Our scattering studies also have revealed important structural differences between human and mouse cardiac MyBP-C that have significant potential functional implications. Interest in MyBP-C and its biological role has grown due to linkages between mutations in the cardiac isoform and serious heart disease.

References
1. Y. Lu, C. M. Jeffries, and J. Trewhella, Probing the Structures of Muscle Regulatory Proteins using Small-Angle Solution Scattering, Biopolymers 95, 505-516 (2011)
2. A. E. Whitten, C. M. Jeffries, S. P. Harris, J. Trewhella, Cardiac Myosin Binding Protein-C Decorates F-actin: Implications for Cardiac Function, Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 105, 18360-18365 (2008)
3. Orlova, A., Galkin, V. Jeffries, C. M., Egelman, E. H. and Trewhella, J. “The N-terminal Domains of Myosin Binding Protein C Can Bind Polymorphically to F-Actin†J. Mol. Biol. 412, 379-386 (2011)
4. Lu, Y., Kwan, A., Trewhella, J., Jeffries, C. M. “The C0C1 Fragment of Human Cardiac Myosin-Binding Protein C has Common Binding Determinants for Actin and Myosin,†J. Mol. Biol. accepted (2011.)


Genetics of leaf morphogenesis: when dissection controls shape

By Patrick Laufs (Institut Jean-Pierre Bourgin, INRA Versailles)

IRTSV seminar

 Amphi Dautreppe (CEA)

Vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, merci de contacter Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr) afin de faire établir une autorisation d’entrée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


HDR Defence: Développements méthodologiques en biocristallographie : Diffusion anomale et complexes de lanthanides - Biophysique sous hautes pressions

By Eric Girard (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


PhD defence: Etude structurale et fonctionnelle de protéines impliquées dans la virulence chez S. pneumoniae et P. aeruginosa

By Thierry Izore (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Structural insights into signal processing in the innate immune system

By Daniel Panne (EMBL/UVHCI)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

Innate immune responses play a critical role in the protection of organisms against pathogens. The innate immune response is triggered by pattern recognition receptors such as Toll-like receptors (TLR), intracellular RNA or DNA sensors such as Rig-I, Mda5 or DAI that recognize pathogen-associated molecular patterns. Signaling by these receptors induces the synthesis and secretion of cytokines that are important for innate and adaptive immune responses. Breakdown of signaling can lead to cancer and infection, whereas hyperactivity can result in autoimmune disease and sepsis. Here we discuss the principles of signal integration through assembly of higher order complexes and discuss recent results on structural studies of IKK kinases, central regulators of the innate immune response.


Biomolecular hydrogels - from supramolecular organization and dynamics to biological function

By Ralf Richter (CIC biomaGUNE, San Sebastian/ Max-Planck-Institute, Stuttgart)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room


Cationic nanoparticles: friend or foe? - Deciphering the mechanisms of cell death induced by cationic nanoparticles

By Mariana Bexiga (University of Coimbra, Portugal)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Structural and functional insights into Multicopper oxidases and the Transcription factor AraR from Bacillus subtilis

By Catarina Silva (Instituto de Tecnologia Química e Biológica, UNL (ITQB-UNL), Portugal)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Conformational dynamics of the SecYEG pore

By Jelger Lycklama (University of Groningen, Netherlands)

EMBL seminar

 EMBL Seminar Room


Plans for Micro-CT, a Imaging and Medical Beamline and the Remote-CT Project at the Australian Synchrotron

By Dr Karen Siu/Dr Sheridan Mayo (Monash University/CSIRO Materials Science & Engineering)

ESRF seminar

 ESRF CTRM Control Room


PHD Defence: Étude des ATPases AAA+ mitochondriales ATAD3A et ATAD3B

By Nicolas Merle (iRTSV/BGE, CEA Grenoble)

IRTSV seminar

 CNRS seminar room

Vous venez de l’extérieur du CEA, merci de contacter Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email: odile.rossignol@cea.fr) afin de faire établir une autorisation d’entrée. Merci de préciser vos date, lieu de naissance, nationalité et nom de jeune fille pour les femmes. N’oubliez pas de vous munir d’une pièce d’identité.


Understanding complement system mediated diseases using protein structure-function relationship

By Lubka Roumenina (Centre de Recherche des Cordeliers, INSERM Paris)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room

The complement system plays a key role in the innate immunity. Complement is a
tightly regulated immune surveillance system, capable to respond to microbial invasion,
physiological cell death or pathological cells injury, without damaging the healthy host
cells. Therefore genetic abnormalities that disturb the balance between complement
activation and regulation can induce attack on the healthy cells or inefficient elimination
of cellular debris, leading to various autoimmune, inflammatory, neurodegenerative,
ischemic, renal and age-related diseases. Deficiency of the recognition molecule of the
classical complement pathway C1q causes an autoimmune disease (systemic lupus) in
more then 90% of the affected individuals. Hyperactivity of the complement alternative
pathway central enzyme, the C3 convertase, is a hallmark of the atypical hemolytic uremic
syndrome (aHUS). Atypical HUS is a thrombotic renal disease, very similar to the HUS
observed during this year’s famous E. coli outbreak in Germany.
We screened cohorts of aHUS and lupus patients searching for mutations in complement
genes and their functional consequences in order to understand the molecular mechanisms
of these diseases. Our results for C1q in lupus and the C3 convertase in aHUS will be used
to illustrate the co-localization of the mutations hot spots with the functionally important
sites of these molecules. We used structure-function analysis for understanding the
pathophysiology of the diseases and the efficacy of novel therapeutics. On the other hand
the functionally relevant genetic changes found in patients help us to delineate important
interaction sites within studied proteins.


Interaction of the peptide amyloid-β with metal ions: What structural information can be obtained on this dynamic system?

By Peter Faller (Laboratoire de Chimie de Coordination-CNRS, Toulouse)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room.

The metal ions copper, zinc and iron have been shown to be involved in Alzheimer’s disease
(AD). Cu, Zn and Fe ions are proposed to be implicated in two key steps of AD pathology:
1) aggregation of the peptide amyloid-beta, and 2) production of reactive oxygen species
induced by amyloid-beta. There is compelling evidence that Cu and Zn bind directly to
amyloid-beta in AD. This formation of Cu/Zn– amyloid-beta complexes is thought to be
aberrant as they have been detected only in AD, but not under healthy conditions. In
this context, the understanding of how these metal ions interact with amyloid-beta, their
influence on structure and oligomerization and reactivity becomes an important issue.
Amyloid-beta is a peptide of 39 to 43 amino acids and is mostly random coil in aqueous
solution and forms amyloid type aggregated with a high content of β-sheet. The metal
ion-binding to this peptide is very dynamic and modulates the aggregation properties.
The seminar presents our recent advancements on the structural studies of complexes
between metal ions (Cu(I/II), Zn(II) and Fe(II) and amyloid-beta by a variety of methods
(1H and 13C-NMR, EPR, X-ray absorption, circular dichroism, etc) and the role of these
complexes in the production of reactive oxygen species and their interaction with other
metalloproteins.


PHD Defence: perception du stress métallique (nickel/cobalt) par le système de signalisation transmembranaire Cnr chez Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34

By Juliette Trépreau (IBS)

IBS seminar

 IBS seminar room.

CnrX est un senseur périplasmique, ancré àla membrane, appartenant au complexe CnrYXH qui
contribue àréguler l’expression des gènes impliqués dans la résistance au nickel et au cobalt chez
Cupriavidus metallidurans CH34. La résistance est induite par la libération de CnrH, un facteur
sigma de type ECF (Extracytoplasmic Function), par le complexe CnrYX en réponse àNi et Co. Nous
avons cherché àcomprendre la manière dont CnrXs, le domaine senseur de CnrX, détecte les ions
métalliques, les stratégies utilisées pour sélectionner spécifiquement Ni ou Co ainsi que la nature
du signal engendré par cette interaction. Les techniques spectroscopiques et biophysiques telles
que l’UV-visible, la RPE, le XAS et l’ITC ont permis d’étudier les sites métalliques en solution. Le
dimère de CnrXs possède quatre sites de liaison au cobalt. Deux des sites (sites F) sont retrouvés
dans la protéine entière dont nous avons maintenant un excellent modèle avec le mutant CnrXs-
H32A. Les deux autres sites (sites E) ont un signal spectroscopique atypique probablement dû àla
formation d’un complexe binucléaire de cobalt. Nous présentons également des structures àhaute
résolution de CnrXs dans ses formes apo et métallées par le nickel, cobalt ou zinc. Nous avons
établi que la forme zinc est la forme inactive de la protéine et que le mécanisme de détection est
engendrée par la substitution du zinc par le nickel et le cobalt dans le site F, conduisant àune
modification majeure du site de liaison au métal. Tandis que le zinc est pentacoordiné dans une
sphère 3N2O, Ni et Co recrutent le soufre de la seule méthionine (Met123) comme sixième ligand
pour former un site octaédrique. Nous suggérons que Met123 soit l’interrupteur moléculaire dont
la liaison avec le métal fait évoluer la structure de la protéine vers une conformation active. A
notre connaissance, ces résultats constituent la première étude structurale et spectroscopique d’un
senseur de métal périplasmique impliqué dans un système de transduction du signal dépendant
d’un facteur sigma de type ECF.


PhD Defence: Etude biophysique et structurale du complexe de réplication des virus àARN négatif

By Ivan Ivanov (UVHCI)

UVHCI seminar

 EMBL seminar room


Modified nucleotides as signal molecules in bacterial biofilm formation

By Paolo Landini (Dep. of Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnology, Univ. degli di Milano, Milan)

Jean Roget seminar

Institut Jean Roget
Salle de Conférence, 5ème Etage
Campus Santé
38700 La Tronche

http://ijr.ujf-grenoble.fr/index.php


Modulation of the function of memory CD8 T cells by IL-4

By Jacqueline Marvel (INSERM U851, UCBL, HCL, Lyon)

Jean Roget seminar

Institut Jean Roget
Salle de Conférence, 5ème Etage
Campus Santé
38700 La Tronche
http://ijr.ujf-grenoble.fr/index.php


La grippe : affection bénigne ou maladie mortelle ?

Science and Society : Café scientifique

Organised by EMBL Grenoble

Cafés Sciences et Citoyens de l’Agglomération Grenobloise, 36 Rue Saint-Laurent, Grenoble


Structure Determination of Macromolecular Complexes in Motion

EMBL Seminar

Holger Stark, Max-Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Gottingen, Germany
Host: Yan Nie (EMBL, Berger Group)

location: ESRF Auditorium


Etudes structurales et dynamiques du système de transport bactérien FhaB/FhaC et du complexe de réplication des Rhabdoviridae

EMBL Thesis Defense

by Nicolas Martinez (EMBL)

EMBL seminar room


Conserved phosphoryl transfer mechanisms within kinase families and the role of the C8 proton of ATP in the activation of phosphoryl transfer

ILL Seminar

by Dr Colin KENYON, Biosciences, CSIR, Pretoria, South Africa

CIBB Seminar Room


Bacterial Membrane Fission

IBS Seminar

Abstract

Par Thierry Doan (Laboratoire de Chimie Bactérienne, CNRS Marseille)
hosted by Thierry Vernet (IBS/Pneumococcus Group)

IBS Seminar Room


Forthcoming

IBS Seminar

by André Verdel (Institut Albert Bonniot, Grenoble)
Hosted by Thierry Vernet (IBS/PG)

IBS seminar room


Implanted BioFuel Cells

iRTSV seminar

Par Philippe Cinquin – TIMC - IMAG

CEA- Amphi Dautreppe
Visitors must have a registered visit prior to their arrival (send an email to Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email : odile.rossignol@cea.fr) indicating your date and place of birth & your nationality). Please note that you must registered at least one week before if you are not from a CEE country. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity (e.g. passport) before being allowed to enter.


Imagerie sans lentille : cellules, bactéries et virus

iRTSV Seminar

Par Cedric Allier- CEA/LETI/DTBS

CEA- Amphi Dautreppe
Visitors must have a registered visit prior to their arrival (send an email to Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email : odile.rossignol@cea.fr) indicating your date and place of birth & your nationality). Please note that you must registered at least one week before if you are not from a CEE country. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity (e.g. passport) before being allowed to enter.


High resolution mass spectrometry for intact protein analysis

Additionnal IBS Seminar

by Christophe Masselon de l’iRTSV

Seminar of interest for IBS, iRSTV and PSB

IBS Seminar room


Functional, biophysical and structural studies on the murine Rif1 protein

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Rasa Sukackaite (EMBL)

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural characterization of membrane proteins by hydrogen/deuterium exchange mass spectrometry

IBS PhD Defense

Abstract

By Shahid Mehmood (IBS/Membrane & Pathogens Group)

IBS seminar room


The mechanism of transport of cell wall subunits across the bacterial membrane

IBS Seminar

Abstract

by Eejfan Breukink (Dept. Chemical Biology and Organic Chemistry,Utrecht University, Netherlands)
Host : T. Vernet (IBS/PG)

IBS seminar room


CK2ß, un gardien de l’intégrité de l’épithélium

iRTSV seminar

by Odile Filhol-Cochet – iRTSV/BCI-KIN

CEA- Amphi Dautreppe
Visitors must have a registered visit prior to their arrival (send an email to Odile Rossignol (tél. 04.38.78.45.63 - Email : odile.rossignol@cea.fr) indicating your date and place of birth & your nationality). Please note that you must registered at least one week before if you are not from a CEE country. You will be asked to provide proof of your identity (e.g. passport) before being allowed to enter.


Individual-particle electron tomography for studying molecular structure dynamics

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Manikandan Karuppasamy (EMBL)

EMBL Seminar Room


Combining Neutron Imaging and Scattering - A Vision for the ILL as well ?

General ILL Seminar

by Burkhard Schillinger, Michael Schulz (FRM II – TU München - Germany)

Room 7/8 - ILL 1

Participants without entrance to the ILL site are asked to contact : dubouloz@ill.fr


La recherche de la vie dans l’Univers

IBS Seminar

By Michel Viso (CNES, Paris)
Host : P. Vauclare (IBS/ELMA)
Seminar for all audiences

IBS Seminar room


Iron uptake homeostasis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa and management of oxidative stress

IBS Seminar

Abstract

By Pierre Cornelis (Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Microbiology)
Host : E. de Rosny (IBS/METALLO)

IBS Seminar room


New insights into the role of actin dynamic in cell motility and cell division

Séminaire iRTSV

by Rong Li- Stowers Institute for Medical Research - Kansas City, USA

Seminar room at the main entrance of the CEA Grenoble - no entry pass needed


NMR Methods for Discovering and Characterizing Small Molecules Binding to Proteins

IBS Seminar

Abstract

By Gregg Siegal (Gorlaeus Laboratory, Leiden University, Netherlands)
Host : C. Vivès (IBS/M&P)


Relating Micro-structure to Macro-properties

ESRF Seminar

Abstract
_ by Gemma NEWBY of Warwick University
Hosted by N. Theyencheri (narayan@esrf.fr)

room 500 - 501, Central Building

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Eva Jahn-Feppon tel +33 (0)476 88-26-19. Requests made by e-mail will be confirmed. If you do not receive a confirmation e-mail, please contact us by phone.


Title will be announced later

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Mathieu Botte

EMBL Seminar Room


Studying Virus- Host Cell Interactions by Electron Microscopy

EMBL seminar

By Dr Sonja Welch (EMBL Heidelberg)

For site entry please contact : Rokhaya Gisele TOUNKARA (gtounkar@embl.fr)


Development of a binding assay between the HIV-1 envelope protein (gp120) and coreceptors CCR5/CXCR4 by Surface Plasmon Resonance : Screening and optimization of viral entry inhibitors

IBS PhD Defense

Abstract

By Bridgette Janine Connell (IBS/Structure and Activity of Glycosaminoglycans Group)

IBS seminar room


Structure of the SecY Complex Unlocked by a Preprotein Mimic

EMBL Seminar

By Prof. Dr. Ian Collinson, University of Bristol, UK
Host : Christiane Schaffitzel

EMBL seminar room


Crossing borders : how bacteria transport proteins into and across the membrane

EMBL Seminar

by Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Koch , University of Freiburg, Germany
Host : Christiane Schaffitzel

EMBL seminar room


Internet, entre le rêve d’une démocratie cognitive et la réalité du Meilleur des mondes...

IBS Seminar (internal speaker)

By Jean-Luc Parouty (IBS/DIR)
Seminar for all audiences

IBS seminar room


Etudes structurales et mécanistiques de protéines impliquées dans le déclenchement de processus biologiques

IBS HDR Defense

by Eve de Rosny (IBS/Metalloproteins Group)

IBS Seminar room


Des microalgues pour la production d’énergie – enjeux et défis

Séminaire iRTSV/CEA

Par Gilles Peltier – CEA DSV / IBEB

Invité par iRTSV/PCV (UMR5168 - CEA/CNRS/UJF/INRA)

salle - Accueil CEA


Mechanical signals control microtubule behavior and growth coordination in plant meristems

Séminaire iRTSV/CEA

Par Olivier Hamant- ENS Lyon

  • Invité par iRTSV/PCV (UMR5168 - CEA/CNRS/UJF/INRA)
  • Salle - Amphi Dautreppe

Dynamics of HIV-1 assembly

UVHCI

By: Nolwenn Jouvenet, Pasteur Institute, Paris

Host: Rob Ruigrok/Winfried Weissenhorn

Salle: ILL Chadwick


Termination of translation in organisms with variant genetic codes

EMBL

By: Dr. Boris Eliseev, Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS)

Hosted by: Christiane Schaffitzel

Salle: EMBL Seminar Room


Interfacial phenomena in bacteria

IBS Seminar

Abstract

by Sigolene Lecuyer (Laboratoire Interdisciplinaire de Physique (LIPhy), Saint Martin d’Hères)
Hosted by C. Morlot (IBS/Pneumococcus group)

IBS seminar room


La sécrétion de protéines par la voie TPS : Structure et fonction du transporteur FhaC

IBS Seminar

Abstract

By Françoise Jacob-Dubuisson (Centre d’Infection et d’Immunité & Institut Pasteur, Lille)
Hosted by C. Ebel (IBS/Membrane & Pathogens Group)

IBS Seminar Room


Exploring new approaches for GPCR studies at the molecular level : application to chemokine receptors

IBS PhD Defense

Abstract

By Lina Siauciunaite (IBS/Membrane &Pathogens Group)

IBS seminar room


Découverte d’une nouvelle famille de protéines kinases bactériennes : Mécanisme de fontionnement et rôle cellulaire de YdiB, un représentant chez B. subtilis

IBS PhD Defense

Abstract

By Hiá »ƒn Anh Nguyá »…n (IBS/Membrane & Pathogens Group)

IBS seminar room


Forthcoming

iRTSV Seminar

By Fred Chang – Columbia university, NY
Room at the entry site of the CEA


Structure and Regulation of IKK kinase complexes

EMBL Progress Report

by Daniel Panne (EMBL)

EMBL Seminar Room


Iron acquisition via siderophores : different molecular mechanisms are involved depending on the siderophore pathways

Additionnal IBS Seminar

by Isabelle Schalk (University of Strasbourg)

IBS seminar room

Abstract : Siderophores are small molecules having an extremely high affinity for iron and produced by bacteria in order to get access to this metal. Their biosynthesis requires the coordinated action of cytoplasmic, periplasmic, and membrane proteins. Using chromosomal replacement to generate bacteria producing fluorescent fusions with enzymes involved in the siderophore pyoverdine biosynthesis, we were able to show that these enzymes were clustered at the old cell pole of bacteria. This observation indicates a polar segregation of the proteins and of siderophore biosynthesis in Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Concerning iron acquisition by siderophore, the E. coli ferrichrome and enterobactin pathways have been the archetype in the field for years. It was believed that the mechanisms involved in these two pathways were probably common to all siderophores pathways in Gram-negative bacteria. We have investigated at the molecular level iron uptake by three different siderophore in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (pyoverdine, pyochelin and ferrichrome) and came to the conclusion that diversity is found in the molecular mechanisms involved in siderophores pathways in Gram-negative bacteria. The ferrichrome uptake pathway in P. aeruginosa was very similar to the one shown in E. coli except for the type of protein involved in the transport across the inner membrane. For the pyoverdine pathway in P. aeruginosa, we have shown a completely different mechanism as was described for other siderophore pathways. Iron is released from the siderophore in the periplasm and not in the cytoplasm as for ferrichrome and the mechanism involves no chemical modification of the siderophore, but only iron reduction. Apo pyoverdine is then recycled from the periplasm into the extracellular medium by a specific efflux pump PvdRT-OpmQ. Recent data showed that this pump also plays a key role in the control of the metal specificity of this iron uptake pathway. All these different mechanisms involved in iron acquisition by siderophores will be discussed and compared.


Electron microscopy of macromolecular complexes

UVHCI HDR defense

by Irina Gutsche, UVHCI

EMBL Seminar room

PARTICIPANTS WHO HAVE NO BADGES ALLOWING ENTRANCE TO THE ILL-ESRF SITE ARE REQUESTED TO CONTACT Irina Gutsche


Caractérisation fonctionnelle et structurale d’une lectine de type-C des cellules de Langerhans : la Langérine

IBS PhD Defense

by Eric Chabrol (IBS/MP)

IBS Seminar room


Structure-function studies of CD93 : a new modulator of inflammation

IBS Seminar

Par Thomas Iwena, GRI, Groupe de recherche en immunopathologies et maladies infectieuses, Université de la Réunion
Hosted by Nicole Thielens (IBS/IRPAS)

Salle des séminaires de l’IBS


Développement de nouveaux outils pour la détermination de structures de macromolécules biologiques par diffraction : application aux protéines membranaires et aux grands complexes protéiques

IBS PhD Defense

Par Romain Talon (IBS/ELMA)

IBS Seminar room


The cytochrome b6f complex of photosynthesis : where are the electrons ?

IBS Seminar

by Daniel Picot (Institut de Biologie Physico-Chimique, Paris)
Hosted by E. Girard(IBS/ELMA)

IBS Seminar room


Reconnaissance phage-bactérie dans le système phage T5-E.coli. Caractérisation biochimique et structurale du complexe FhuA-pb5 et de la protéine caudale pb9

IBS PhD Defense

by Ali Flayhan (IBS/Membrane & Pathogens Group)

_ IBS seminar room


Probing the oligomeric organization of the mitochondrial ADP/ATP carrier in native membranes

IBS PhD Defense

by Vera Moiseeva (IBS/Membrane Transporters Group)

_ IBS seminar room


Novel methyl transfer reactions : Expanding the chemistry of radical SAM enzymes

IBS Seminar

by Olivier Berteau (INRA, Jouy en Josas)
hosted by : J. Fontecilla (IBS/Metallo)

IBS seminar room


Crystal structure of the Mre11–Rad50– ATPgS complex : understanding the interplay between Mre11 and Rad50

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Kyle Muir (EMBL)

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural Biology of the DNA Damage Response

EMBL Seminar

presented by Laurence Pearl, University of Sussex
_Host : Daniel Panne

ILL Chadwick


Pro isomerization in MLL1 PHD3-bromo cassette connects H3K4me readout to CyP33 and HDAC-mediated repression

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Esther Ortega

EMBL Seminar Room


Marie Curie and her time

ILL Colloquium

by Prof Hélène Joliot-Curie (Institut de Physique Nucléaire, Orsay)

CHADWICK AMPHI
External visitors may ask for a site access to Karine Sultan (sultan@ill.fr)


Régulation de la Biosynthèse des Acides Mycoliques par les Ser/Thr Kinases chez Mycobacterium tuberculosis : rôle dans la virulence

IBS Seminar

By Laurent Kremer (Dynamique des Interactions Membranaires Normales et Pathologiques, Montpellier)
Hosted by : C. Bougault (IBS/NMR)

IBS seminar room


Reconstruction moléculaire àpartir d’imagerie AFM (Microscopie àforce atomique) de molécules uniques

IBS Seminar

Par Jean-Luc Pellequer (Institut de biologie environnementale et biotechnologie (CEA/DSV/IBEB), Service de biochimie et toxicologie nucléaire (SBTN) - Marcoule
Hosted by : M. Weik (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS seminar room


In the membrane vs. "in cell" solid-state NMR study of membrane proteins

Additionnal IBS seminar

by Dror Warschawski (IBPC -Paris)
hosted by J. Boisbouvier (IBS/NMR)

_ IBS seminar room


From genomics to cellular dynamics : ROS and Ca2+ signaling in Arabidopsis guard cells

iRTSV seminar

Par June Kwak – Department of Cell Biology & Molecular Genetics, University of Maryland, USA

 CEA entrance


Developments of the ESPRIT system : Frame selection using split intein technology and application to viral RNA polymerases

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Thomas Saijo (EMBL)


Intrinsic Mean Square Displacements in Proteins

General ILL Seminar

by Prof. Henry R. Glyde (Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716-2570, USA)

Seminar Room 1rst floor, ILL 4


Biomimetic coatings using a simple self-assembly method : physico-chemical studies and applications in cell biology and tissue engineering

ILL Colloquium

by Prof Catherine PICART (LMGP in Minatec, Grenoble Institute of Technology and CNRS, Grenoble)

CHADWICK AMPHI, ILL4, Ground Floor


Insights into amyloid fibrils dynamics from neutron scattering

ILL Seminar

by Dr Giorgio SCHIRO (Department of Physics, University of Palermo, Italy)

EMBL Seminar Room


Bunyaviridae : transmission and spread throughout the host

EMBL Seminar

presented by Pierre-Yves Lozach, Institut für Biochemie, ETH-Hönggerberg, Zürich

EMBL Seminar Room


Structure, function and mechanisms of dynamin proteins

EMBL PhD Seminar

presented by Dr. Oliver Daumke, Max-Delbrück-Centrum for Molecular Medicine, Berlin

EMBL Seminar Room


Fluorescence localization microscopy – the transition from concept to biological research tool

IBS Seminar

By Markus Sauer (Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Germany)
Hosted by Virgile Adam (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS Seminar Room


Mass spectrometry : a diverse tool applied to human aging and disease

IBS Seminar

by Andrew Aquilina (University of Wollongong, Australia)
Hosted by E. Boeri Erba (IBS/VIC)

_ IBS seminar Room


Targeting the membrane : peptides and their use in microbial biotechnology

Soft Matter Cafe’ Meeting

by Dr Stefania Galdiero from University of Naples "Federico II", Italy

ILL Oval Room (ILL Main Building ILL4 - First Floor - Door 163)


Reconnaissance et phagocytose des cellules apoptotiques, rôle de C1q et de la calréticuline

IBS PhD Defense

by Mélanie Verneret (IBS/IRPAS)

IBS Seminar room


Improving and automating preparation steps of protein crystals for X-ray diffraction

IBS PhD Defense

by Yasser Heidari (IBS/GSY)

IBS Seminar room


Caractérisation de l’interaction des collagènes de défense avec la calréticuline de T. cruzi et CR1/CD35

IBS PhD Defense

by Mickael Jacquet (IBS/IRPAS)

IBS Seminar room


Mécanismes de photo-commutation réversible des protéines fluorescentes

IBS PhD Defense

by Aline Faro (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS Seminar room


Gene regulation by FUSE Binding Proteins

EMBL Seminar

by Dr. Andres Ramos (MRC, National Institute for Medical Research, London, United Kingdom)
Hosted by Nikolas Mathioudakis (EMBL/Cusack Group)

EMBL seminar room


The structure of intermediate filament assembly intermediates depends on the salt concentration

ESRF Seminar

By Martha BRENNICH of Institute for X-Ray Physics, Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, Germany
Hosted by Petra Pernot (rejma@esrf.fr)
Abtsract

Room 500 - 501, Central Building


Reconstituted Myelin Sheats Investigated by Neutron Scattering : the Role of Myelin Proteins

ILL PhD defense

by Wiebke Knoll (ILL)

EMBL seminar room


Manipulation dans le micro/nanomonde : dispositif haptique préhensile

ESRF PhD Thesis defense

Par Antoine Nigues of ESRF Grenoble, France

ESRF Auditorium, Central Building


Tracking protein dynamics by time resolved wide angle X-ray scattering : the Hemoglobin case from solutions to intact cells

ESRF Seminar

by Alessandro SPILOTROS of University of Palermo Dept. Physics Via Archirafi 36 90123 Palermo (Italy)

CTRM Control Room


NewPin & miniSpine : Towards a new sample holder standard for frozen crystals

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Gergely Papp

EMBL Seminar Room


piRNAs Can Trigger a Multigenerational Epigenetic Memory in the Germline of C. elegans

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Jorge Dias

EMBL Seminar Room


Novel probes and strategies for high resolution fluorescence imaging in living cells

IBS Seminar

By Ranieri Bizzarri (Scuola Normale Superiore and Istituto Nanoscienze
Pisa, Italy)

IBS Seminar room


Electron microscopy of amino acid decarboxylase-based systems of bacterial acid resistance

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Irina Gutsche, UVHCI

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural basis for cisplatin DNA damage tolerance by human polymerase η during cancer chemotherapy

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Catarina Silva, EMBL

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural and functional studies on the piRNA pathway component TDRD1

EMBL PhD Thesis Defense

presented by Nikolaos Mathioudakis, EMBL

EMBL Seminar Room


Role of Epstein-Barr Virus and its latency protein LMP1 in the development of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma among HIV+ patients

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Charlotte Sueur, UVHCI

EMBL Seminar Room


The recognition domain of the methyl-specific endonuclease McrBC flips out 5-methylcytosine

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Rasa Sukackaite, EMBL

EMBL Seminar Room


Structure and function of G protein-coupled receptors

IBS Seminar

by Vadim Cherezov (The Scripps Institute, La Jolla, USA)
Hosted by V. Gordeliy (IBS/MEMBRANE)

IBS seminar room


Du roÌ‚le des meÌ taux de transition dans la catalyse aux meÌ canismes d’insertion des centres meÌ talliques dans les proteÌ ines

IBS HDR Defense

by Yvain Nicolet (IBS/Metalloproteins Group)

IBS seminar room


Caractérisation structurale et biophysique de Elmo1 et de ses interactions avec son partenaire : une protéine impliquée dans les voies de signalisation du remodelage du cytosquelette d’actine

ILL PhD defense

by Marion Sevajol (IBS/Immune response to pathogens and altered-self Group)

IBS seminar room


Les armes et moyens de défense du pneumocoque

IBS HDR defense

By Claire Durmort (IBS/Pneumococcus Group)

IBS seminar room


MreB dynamics and morphogenetic function in Bacillus subtilis

IBS Seminar

By Rut Carballido-Lopez (Institut Micalis, INRA, Jouy-en-Josas)
Hosted by T. Vernet (IBS/ Pneumococcus Group)

IBS seminar room


Quelques exemples de biologie structurale

IBS HDR defense

By Jean-Baptiste Reiser (IBS/Immune response to pathogens and altered-self Group)

IBS seminar room


Les lipoglycannes de Mycobacterium tuberculosis : de la modulation de la réponse immune innée àla conception d’analogues àvisée thérapeutique

IBS Seminar

By Jérôme Nigou (Institut de Pharmacologie et de Biologie Structurale, Toulouse)
Hosted by H. Lortat-Jacob (IBS/SAGAG) & J.P. Simorre (IBS/NMR)

IBS seminar room


The Structure of Human Argonaute-2 in Complex with miR-20a

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Kuan-Ming Chen

EMBL Seminar Room


Co-translational protein targeting and signal sequence surveillance by the SRP studied with cryo-electron microscopy

TAC Seminar

presented by Ottilie Von Loeffelholz

EMBL Meeting Room


Role of the intrinsically disordered protein EBNA2 in STAT3 mediated transcription regulation of EBV infected cells

TAC Seminar

presented by Eva Geenen

EMBL Seminar Room


Stories about the ribosomal A site : entrance and checking point for tRNAs

EMBL Blue Seminar

presented by Prof. Dr. Mikel Valle, Structural Biology Unit, CICbioGUNE

CIBB Seminar Room


Structural basis of highly conserved ribosome recycling in eukaryotes and archaea

EMBL Journal Club

presented by Boris Eliseev

  • _ EMBL Seminar Room

Localization-Based Super-Resolution Fluorescence Imaging

IBS Seminar

By Samuel T. Hess (University of Maine, USA)
Host : D. Bourgeois (IBS/Groupe Dynamop)

IBS seminar room


Etude par RMN des L,D-transpeptidases bactériennes : structure, dynamique et caracterisation de leur inhibition par les β- lactames

IBS PhD Defense

by Lauriane Lecoq (IBS/NMR spectroscopy Group)

IBS seminar room


Impact of Protein Unfolding on the Dilational Surface Viscoelasticity

General ILL Seminar

by Prof. Boris Noskov, St Petersburg State University, Russian Federation

CIBB Seminar Room


The role of helper lipids in the interaction of DNA with cationic lipid monolayers as investigated with neutron reflection

ILL Seminar

by Dr. Aleksandra Dabkowska, Lund University, Sweden

EMBL Seminar Room


Changes in the conformation equilibrium of the membrane protein Cytochrome P450 Reductase incorporated in nanodiscs as studied by neutron reflectivity

ILL Seminar

by Dr. Marité Cárdenas, Copenhagen University, Denmark

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural Mechanism of Swi2/Snf2 Remodeller ATPases in Genome Biology

IBS additionnal Seminar

by Prof. Karl-Peter Hopfner (Gene Center, Munich)
Hosted by Joanna TIMMINS (IBS/VIC)

IBS seminar room


Structural studies of the DNA repair machinery of Deinococcus radiodurans

IBS HDR defense

by Joanna TIMMINS (IBS / Virus Infection & Cancer Group / DNA Damage & Repair Team)

IBS seminar room


Instrumentation upgrades for the Macromolecular Crystallography beamlines of the Swiss Light Source

ESRF Seminar

By Martin R. Fuchs of MX Group, Swiss Light Source, Paul Scherrer Institute, Villigen, Switzerland

Auditorium, Central Building


Etude de l’activité antivirale des constituants du surfactant pulmonaire et perspectives thérapeutiques pour le traitement d’une agression par la voie respiratoire

IBS Seminar

Par Anne Laure Favier (Centre de Recherches du Service de Santé des Armées, La Tronche)
Host : N. Thielens (IBS/Groupe IRPAS)

IBS seminar room


Etude de la dynamique conformationnelle des protéines intrinsèquemment désordonnées par résonance magnétique nucléaire

IBS PhD Defense

By Valéry Ozenne (IBS/Protein Dynamics and flexibility by NMR Group)

IBS Seminar room


Broadly neutralizing antibodies and an HIV vaccine

EMBL Seminar

by Pascal Poignard, Department of Immunology and Microbial Science and IAVI Neutralizing Antibody Center, The Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla, California

ILL Chadwick


CANCELLED : Structural and Molecular Basis for Disruption of Nuclear Estrogen Receptor Signaling by Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

IBS Seminar

by Vanessa Delfosse (Centre de Biochimie Structurale, Montpellier) - Hôte : B. Franzetti (IBS/Groupe ELMA)

_Please note that the following IBS seminar is cancelled


RNAi and reverse transcription control RNA virus persistence in the insect model Drosophila

EMBL Seminar

presented by Dr. Maria Carla Saleh (Viruses and RNAi Group, Institut Pasteur)

EMBL Seminar Room


Electron Tomography

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Winnie Ling (IBS/MEM)

IBS seminar room


In crystallo optical spectroscopy

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Antoine Royant (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS seminar room


Solid-state NMR

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Paul Schanda (IBS/NMR)

IBS seminar room


Membrane proteins

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Cécile Breyton (IBS/M&P)

IBS seminar room


Nanocrystallography

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Jacques Colletier (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS seminar room


Single-particle electron microscopy and reconstruction

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Christiane Schaffitzel (EMBL)

IBS seminar room


Characterization of intrinsically disordered proteins at atomic resolution using NMR

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Malène Jensen (IBS/FDP)

IBS seminar room


Les aventures d’un cinéticien au pays de beta-lactamines

EMBL Seminar

In the context of the Enzymology course in Master 2, Jean-Marie Frère from the University of Liège will give on monday 26th from 13h30 to 16h30 in the EMBL seminar room a lecture entitled : "Les aventures d’un cinéticien au pays de beta-lactamines". For those of you who would like to know more about the enzymes that are targeted by penicillin and other beta-lactam antibiotics and about the resistance mechanisms developped by the bacteria, the lecture is opened and you are welcome to participate

EMBL Seminar room


Development of glycomimetic antagonists of the C-type lectin receptor DC-SIGN : a new anti-HIV preventive strategy

IBS PhD Defense

By Ieva Sutkeviciute (IBS/Membrane and Pathogens Group)

CERMAV seminar room


Influenza virus non-structural protein NS1 : In vitro interaction with RNAs

EMBL Seminar

by Daniel Marc, UMR-1282, Infectiologie et Santé Publique, INRA, Tours

CIBB Seminar room


Integrative Data Analysis in Visual and Interactive Environment

ESRF Seminar

by Gaë l GORET (ESRF)

ESRF, room 500 - 501


Understanding, inhibiting and exploiting bacterial toxins

IBS Seminar

by Bruce Turnbull (University of Leeds)
Host :F. Fieschi (IBS/Membrane and Pathogens Group

_ IBS Seminar Room


Folding of proteins studied by real-time NMR and other biophysical methods : the example of beta2-microglogulin

IBS PhD Defense

by Thomas Cutuil (IBS/Biomolecular NMR Spectroscopy Group)

IBS Seminar Room


Progress towards understanding the Slit-Robo signaling mechanism

EMBL Progress Report

presented by Nataliia Aleksandrova

EMBL Seminar Room


Monoglyceride Lipases : Structure, Function and Evolution

EMBL Seminar

presented by Srinavasan Rengachari, University of Graz
[Host : Daniel Panne]

EMBL Seminar Room


Histone methylation, basal transcription factor TFIID and pluripotency

EMBL Seminar

presented by Prof. Dr. Marc Timmers, Molecular Cancer Research, University Medical Center Utrecht
[Host : Imre Berger]

EMBL Seminar Room


Structural Molecular Biology of Human TFIID Complexes

EMBL PhD Thesis Defense

presented by Yan Nie

EMBL Seminar Room


The Hsp90 chaperone of E. coli : mechanism of action and identification of a client-binding region

IBS Seminar

by Olivier Genest (Laboratory of Molecular Biology, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, USA)
Host : J.M. Jault (IBS/Groupe Membrane & Pathogènes)

IBS seminar room


Using atomic force microscopy to probe the membrane organisation and function of photosynthetic complexes

IBS Seminar

by Neil Hunter (Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, The University of Sheffield, UK)
Hosted by D. Bourgeois (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS seminar room


Transcriptional slippage is required for T6SS-dependent interbacterial competition in Citrobacter rodentium

IBS Seminar

by Erwan Gueguen (Laboratoire d’Ingénierie des Systèmes Macromoléculaires, Institut de Microbiologie de la Méditerranée, Marseille)
Hosted by C. Cavazza (IBS/Metalloproteins)

_ IBS seminar room


Nanocrystallography

IBS courses " Emerging Biophysical Methods for Integrative Biology"

by Jacques Colletier (IBS/DYNAMOP)

IBS Seminar room


Caractérisation de l’interaction de l’IFNγ avec les héparanes sulfates

IBS PhD Defense

By Els Saesen (IBS/Structure and Activity of Glycosaminoglycans Group)

IBS Seminar room


Science and Society Symposium – Regenerating the Body: The Future of Medicine

Chadwick Amphitheatre, ILL

Presented by Nadia Rosenthal and Alex Mauron, Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute, Monash, and University of Geneva
[Host: Halldór Stefánsson]

For more information check here


Prediction of structure and binding affinity of protein-protein complexes

IBS seminar room (new building)

By Alexandre MJJ Bonvin
Computational Structural Biology Group, Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Utrecht University, 3584CH, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
Contact: a.m.j.j.bonvin@uu.nl

Protein-protein interactions underlie most cellular processes, including signal transduction and apoptosis. Understanding how the cell works requires describing these at molecular level, which is bound to have a dramatic impact on current and future structure-based drug design. Computational methods may assist in this task, particularly when some experimental data can be obtained.
I will first describe our information-driven docking approach HADDOCK (http://haddock.science.uu.nl), illustrating it with various examples including results from the CAPRI blind scoring experiment. I will then discuss the problem of binding affinity prediction, showing that current scoring functions in macromolecular docking fail at predicting the affinity of protein-protein complexes. For binding affinity calculation, the surface buried upon complexation is not the absolute determinant and inclusion of additional structural parameters, previously neglected is deemed mandatory for near-accurate predictions. In conclusion, current biophysical models are far more adequate in predicting accurate conformations of protein-protein complexes rather than assessing the affinity of their interactions.

References
• S.J. de Vries, A.S.J. Melquiond, P.L. Kastritis, E. Karaca, A. Bordogna, M. van Dijk, J.P.G.L.M. Rodrigues and A.M.J.J. Bonvin (2010). Strengths and weaknesses of data-driven docking in CAPRI. Proteins: Struc. Funct. & Bioinformatic, 78, 3242-3249.
• P.L. Kastritis and A.M.J.J. Bonvin (2010). Are scoring functions in protein-protein docking ready to predict interactomes? Clues from a novel binding affinity benchmark. J. Proteome Res., 9, 2216-2225.
• P.L. Kastritis, I.H. Moal, H. Hwang, Z. Weng, P.A. Bates, A.M.J.J. Bonvin and J. Janin (2011). A structure-based benchmark for protein-protein binding affinity. Prot. Sci., 20, 482-41.
• A.S.J. Melquiond, E. Karaca, P.L. Kastritis and A.M.J.J. Bonvin (2012). Next challenges in protein-protein docking: From proteome to interactome and beyond. WIREs Computational Molecular Science 2, 642-651.


PSB Partners seminars

To consult the list of upcoming seminars organised by the PSB Partners check the following links:
IBS seminars
EMBL seminars
ESRF Seminars
ILL seminars

For other scientific seminars organised in the Grenoble area, please check HERE (in french only)