1) Describe the structural domains and mechanism of action of ribozymes. How can ribozymes be useful as therapeutic agents? (10 points)
RNA molecules that act as enzymes are called ribozymes. They are capable of catalyzing the cleavage of their own RNA or other RNA substrates (Missailidis, 2008). Ribozymes are involved in viroid replication, RNA splicing and protein synthesis. (Clark & Russel, 2005) The structure of ribozymes consist of a catalytic domain and a substrate binding domain. (Ebrahimian, 2015)
The substrate binding domain has a specific sequence antisense to the target mRNA. This sequence recognizes and hybridizes specifically to its substrate. (Missailidis, 2008). Alteration of the substrate binding domain can be done so that the substrate specifically cleaves any mRNA sequence. The RNA catalytic domain cleaves the substrate at a target site recognized by the ribozyme (Glick &Pasternak, 2003). The resultant products are then degraded by ribonucleases and the ribozyme dissociates itself from the RNA products and binds to another mRNA to be cleaved. (Missailidis, 2008)
Therapeutic ribozymes can be designed to target almost any RNA sequence and decrease the amount of a particular protein that is synthesized (Glick & Pasternak, 2003). This can be done by incorporating the catalytic domain of ribozyme into short oligonucleotides antisense to the target mRNA (Missailidis, 2008). Ribozymes can be used to identify specific sites and introduced into the system to
The small ribosomal subunit, amongst other things, is initiates the engagement of the mRNA and is responsible decoding the genetic information during translation [4].
3) As a ribosome moves along the mRNA, the genetic message is translated into a protein with a specific amino acid sequence.
Then the tRNA molecules link together and transfer the amino acid to the ribosome. An Anticodons pair with a codon takes the
Step 3: What protein will be your drug target? What property of that protein will you target? Design an assay/approach to identify an antidote for “degron”. (4 pts.)
Proteins are biological macromolecules made from smaller building units called amino acids. There are 20 natural occurring amino acids which can combine in various ways to form a polypeptide. There are four distinctive levels of protein structure: primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary. The primary structure of a protein is important in determining the final three dimensional structure and hence the role and function of a particular protein, both in the human body and in life around us. The secondary structure of a protein can fall into two major categories; α-helices or β-sheets, other variants also exist such as β-turns {{20 Brändén, Carl-Ivar, 1934- 1991}}. The precise folding or these secondary structures into a three dimensional shape is known as the tertiary structure of a protein and multiple polypeptides bound together via covalent and non-covalent bonds forms the complex quaternary structure of a protein.
Bacteria belongs to a group of organism that lacks cell nucleus and membrane bound organells. This group of organisms are termed as prokaryotes. Prokaryotes follows the central dogma of molecular biology first proposed by Francis Crick in 1958 to synthesize proteins from mRNA through a process called translation and the mRNA is being synthesized from the DNA by another process called Transcription. Temperature, nutrient availibity are some key factors that start the process of synthesizing proteins in response to these key factors. Example. This paper will provide an explanation as to how bacteria decode the genetic information to produce
This is done by means of the aminoacyl attachment site (the site at which the amino acid is attached to the tRNA molecule). Each tRNA molecule, by means of their anticodons (a sequence of three exposed free bases complimentary to that of the codons on
The concept of protein domains and motifs has dominated the first half of this course. Discuss the relevance of protein domains to the following topics:
3) Due to the fact that proteins carry out several tasks, the one used best to make proteins would include the transcription and translation process. The primary role of Deoxyribonucleic acid is to direct the synthesis of proteins. The DNA is located in the nucleus of the cell and protein synthesis occurs in the cellular structures better known as ribosomes which are found in the nucleus. Transition is when genetic information is transferred from the nucleus to the ribosomes. In the process, a strand of ribonucleic acid is synthesized. The messenger RNA is corresponding to the portion of DNA that directed it. Transcription occurs once it is controlled by a specialized enzyme. The steps consist of steps one through four. Step one is the transcription
In biology, the structure of a molecule dictates its function. This essay describes the importance of the shapes of specific molecules and how proteins acquire the structure they have and how changes in their shape can affect their functionality. According to Roberts et al. (2000), proteins are chemically one of the most complex molecules known, as “they play a vital role in all organisms”. Stated by Alberts et al. (2002), proteins come in a wide variety of shapes, and are generally between 50 and 2000 amino acids long. The combination of any amino acid in any length and sequence leads almost to an infinite number of conceivable structures and functions. Amino acids undergo condensation reactions to form polypeptides. These amino acid units are linked by peptide bonds. The restricted rotation about the carbon-nitrogen bond in the peptide link has a large influence on the shape and structure of a protein, which therefore determines its function.
Ribosomes are the structures in which proteins are made. Cells that are active in protein synthesis are often crowded with ribosomes. Ribosomes are composed of RNA and protein. Some ribosomes are attached to the membranes, and some are free in the cytoplasm. Ribosomes are among the smallest of organelles. They are no larger than 25 nanometers in diameter. A nanometer is equal to one billionth of a meter.
Both of them are used to store and regulate the use of genetic information in a living organism. They are both constructed using nearly the same molecular structure, having phosphate groups and sugars linked together to form a phosphate backbone with variable nitrogenous bases utilized to encode the genetic information, the bases are only differ by an uracil base instead of a thymine base. DNA, unlike RNA, is not able to catalyse its own replication so they cannot be the primitive molecules. Also, observing the chemical composition of RNA and DNA, the difference between the uracil and thymine is the 5th position of the ring structure. Genetic mutation occurred so a CH3 group was added onto the 5th position of uracil to form thymine. Not only RNA has catalytic activity as pointed above, it also has the ability to control gene regulation, which is known as riboswitch. The ribosome is one of the most ancient molecules in our cells. In addition, ribosome is composed of RNA and a protein called Ribonucleoprotein. If the majority of protein content is eliminated, protein synthesis could be maintained. Therefore, RNA is the most crucial part of the macromolecule and this observation is in agreement with the knowledge of ribozymes, RNA with an autocatalytic capacity. Taken together, it strongly suggests that RNA has a
Proteins serve a myriad of functions whether within or outside of the cells. These functions include structural roles (cytoskeleton), transport of
DNAzymes are made using a process called in vitro selection whereby a large group of random DNA strands are artificially selected for based on the ability to cleave RNA. The most studied DNAzyme is the 10-23. The name comes from the 10th round of in vitro selection and the 23rd round of cloning4. This is a 15 nucleotide sequence with proven enzymatic cleaving properties5. To target specific sites, RNA-recognizing sequences called guide strands that are 7-nucleotides long are attached to this main catalytic strand on each side. The 10-23 DNAzyme does not require cofactors, but in some cases they have been shown to improve enzymatic activity6,7.
Finally, all the nucleotides are joined to form a complete polynucleotide chain using DNA polymerase. The two new DNA molecules form double helices.