Understanding the structure and assembly of pilus fibers should advance the design of drugs and vaccines for treatment and prevention of major bacterial diseases that are now threats to public health because of increasing resistance to antibiotics. Molecular replacement of the PAK diffraction data with the N gonorrhoeae pilin suggests differences in fold for the head domain of PAK pilin.
SODs are ubiquitous enzymes with diverse biophysical properties.
Genetic defects in the gene that encodes human copper-zinc SOD cause the fatal neurodegenerative disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig disease. Structural studies of mutants of human copper-zinc SOD aim to discover the molecular basis of this disease by characterizing the relationship between changes in the enzyme's structure and changes in its activity. We also seek to further define the enzyme's catalytic mechanism, role in substrate electrostatic guidance, and features that determine both the stability of the protein's fold and the metal ion's affinity for the protein. Human manganese SOD protects mitochondria from oxidative damage. Therefore, specific inhibitors of iNOS have great therapeutic potential.