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Nina Morgner

Bio: Nina Morgner is an academic researcher from Goethe University Frankfurt. The author has contributed to research in topics: Membrane protein & Mass spectrometry. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 75 publications receiving 3266 citations. Previous affiliations of Nina Morgner include University of Freiburg & University of Oxford.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
04 Mar 2011-Science
TL;DR: The x-ray structure of the amino-terminal domain of SAS-6 is determined from zebrafish, and it is shown that recombinant SAS- 6 self-associates in vitro into assemblies that resemble cartwheel centers, consistent with the notion that centriole formation in vivo depends on the interactions that define the self-assemblies observed here.
Abstract: Centrioles are cylindrical, ninefold symmetrical structures with peripheral triplet microtubules strictly required to template cilia and flagella. The highly conserved protein SAS-6 constitutes the center of the cartwheel assembly that scaffolds centrioles early in their biogenesis. We determined the x-ray structure of the amino-terminal domain of SAS-6 from zebrafish, and we show that recombinant SAS-6 self-associates in vitro into assemblies that resemble cartwheel centers. Point mutations are consistent with the notion that centriole formation in vivo depends on the interactions that define the self-assemblies observed here. Thus, these interactions are probably essential to the structural organization of cartwheel centers.

301 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
21 Oct 2011-Science
TL;DR: It is shown that rotary adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases)/synthases from Thermus thermophilus and Enterococcus hirae can be maintained intact with membrane and soluble subunit interactions preserved in vacuum and can link specific lipid and nucleotide binding with distinct regulatory roles.
Abstract: The ability of electrospray to propel large viruses into a mass spectrometer is established and is rationalized by analogy to the atmospheric transmission of the common cold. Much less clear is the fate of membrane-embedded molecular machines in the gas phase. Here we show that rotary adenosine triphosphatases (ATPases)/synthases from Thermus thermophilus and Enterococcus hirae can be maintained intact with membrane and soluble subunit interactions preserved in vacuum. Mass spectra reveal subunit stoichiometries and the identity of tightly bound lipids within the membrane rotors. Moreover, subcomplexes formed in solution and gas phases reveal the regulatory effects of nucleotide binding on both ATP hydrolysis and proton translocation. Consequently, we can link specific lipid and nucleotide binding with distinct regulatory roles.

249 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: High resolution UV-photoelectron spectra of cold mass selected Cun, Agn, and Aun- with n=53-58 show that only Cu55- and Ag55- exhibit highly degenerate states, a direct consequence of their icosahedral symmetry, as confirmed by density functional theory calculations.
Abstract: We present high resolution UV-photoelectron spectra of cold mass selected ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}}_{n}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{g}}_{n}^{\ensuremath{-}}$, and ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{u}}_{n}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ with $n=53--58$. The observed electron density of states is not the expected simple electron shell structure, but is strongly influenced by electron-lattice interactions. Only ${\mathrm{C}\mathrm{u}}_{55}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ and ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{g}}_{55}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ exhibit highly degenerate states. This is a direct consequence of their icosahedral symmetry, as is confirmed by density functional theory calculations. Neighboring sizes exhibit perturbed electronic structures, as they are formed by removal or addition of atoms to the icosahedron and therefore have lower symmetries. Gold clusters in the same size range show completely different spectra with almost no degeneracy, which indicates that they have structures of much lower symmetry. This behavior is related to strong relativistic bonding effects in gold, as demonstrated by ab initio calculations for ${\mathrm{A}\mathrm{u}}_{55}^{\ensuremath{-}}$.

234 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Overall these MS results show how concerted small molecule binding leads to synergistic effects on binding affinities and conformations of a multidrug efflux pump.
Abstract: Multidrug resistance is a serious barrier to successful treatment of many human diseases, including cancer, wherein chemotherapeutics are exported from target cells by membrane-embedded pumps. The most prevalent of these pumps, the ATP-Binding Cassette transporter P-glycoprotein (P-gp), consists of two homologous halves each comprising one nucleotide-binding domain and six transmembrane helices. The transmembrane region encapsulates a hydrophobic cavity, accessed by portals in the membrane, that binds cytotoxic compounds as well as lipids and peptides. Here we use mass spectrometry (MS) to probe the intact P-gp small molecule-bound complex in a detergent micelle. Activation in the gas phase leads to formation of ions, largely devoid of detergent, yet retaining drug molecules as well as charged or zwitterionic lipids. Measuring the rates of lipid binding and calculating apparent KD values shows that up to six negatively charged diacylglycerides bind more favorably than zwitterionic lipids. Similar experiments confirm binding of cardiolipins and show that prior binding of the immunosuppressant and antifungal antibiotic cyclosporin A enhances subsequent binding of cardiolipin. Ion mobility MS reveals that P-gp exists in an equilibrium between different states, readily interconverted by ligand binding. Overall these MS results show how concerted small molecule binding leads to synergistic effects on binding affinities and conformations of a multidrug efflux pump.

148 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Improved improvements will initiate the development of the next platform of glycodendrimers in which apparently contrary properties can be combined, and this will enable, for example, therapeutic products such as more efficient and less toxic antiamyloid agents to be synthesized.
Abstract: Maltose-modified poly(propylene imine) (PPI) dendrimers were synthesized by reductive amination of unmodified second- to fifth-generation PPI dendrimers in the presence of excess maltose. The dendrimers were characterized by using (1)H NMR, (13)C NMR, and IR spectroscopies; laser-induced liquid beam ionization/desorption mass spectrometry; dynamic light scattering analyses; and polyelectrolyte titration. Their scaffolds have enhanced molecular rigidity and their outer spheres, at which two maltose units are bonded to the former primary amino groups on the surface, have hydrogen-bond-forming properties. Furthermore, the structural features reveal the presence of a dense shell. Experiments involving encapsulation (1-anilinonaphthalene-8-sulfonic acid) and biological properties (hemolysis and interactions with human serum albumin (HSA) and prion peptide 185-208) were performed to compare the modified with the unmodified dendrimers. These experiments gave the following results: 1) The modified dendrimers entrapped a low-molecular-weight fluorescent dye by means of a dendritic box effect, in contrast to the interfacial uptake characteristic of the unmodified PPI dendrimers. 2) Both low- and high-generation dendrimers containing maltose units showed markedly reduced toxicity. 3) The desirable features of bio-interactions depended on the generation of the dendrimer; they were retained after maltose substitution, but were now mainly governed by nonspecific hydrogen-bonding interactions involving the maltose units. The modified dendrimers interacted with HSA as strongly as the parent compounds and appeared to have potential use as antiprion agents. These improvements will initiate the development of the next platform of glycodendrimers in which apparently contrary properties can be combined, and this will enable, for example, therapeutic products such as more efficient and less toxic antiamyloid agents to be synthesized.

139 citations


Cited by
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Journal ArticleDOI
15 Sep 2016-Nature
TL;DR: Powerful mass-spectrometry-based technologies now provide unprecedented insights into the composition, structure, function and control of the proteome, shedding light on complex biological processes and phenotypes.
Abstract: Numerous biological processes are concurrently and coordinately active in every living cell. Each of them encompasses synthetic, catalytic and regulatory functions that are, almost always, carried out by proteins organized further into higher-order structures and networks. For decades, the structures and functions of selected proteins have been studied using biochemical and biophysical methods. However, the properties and behaviour of the proteome as an integrated system have largely remained elusive. Powerful mass-spectrometry-based technologies now provide unprecedented insights into the composition, structure, function and control of the proteome, shedding light on complex biological processes and phenotypes.

1,458 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In this article, the authors introduce density functional theory and review recent progress in its application to transition metal chemistry, including local, meta, hybrid, hybrid meta, and range-separated functionals, band theory, software, validation tests, and applications to spin states, magnetic exchange coupling, spectra, structure, reactivity, and solids.
Abstract: We introduce density functional theory and review recent progress in its application to transition metal chemistry. Topics covered include local, meta, hybrid, hybrid meta, and range-separated functionals, band theory, software, validation tests, and applications to spin states, magnetic exchange coupling, spectra, structure, reactivity, and catalysis, including molecules, clusters, nanoparticles, surfaces, and solids.

1,449 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Luminescence in the visible region, especially by clusters protected with proteins, with a large Stokes shift, has been used for various sensing applications, down to a few tens of molecules/ions, in air and water.
Abstract: Atomically precise pieces of matter of nanometer dimensions composed of noble metals are new categories of materials with many unusual properties. Over 100 molecules of this kind with formulas such as Au25(SR)18, Au38(SR)24, and Au102(SR)44 as well as Ag25(SR)18, Ag29(S2R)12, and Ag44(SR)30 (often with a few counterions to compensate charges) are known now. They can be made reproducibly with robust synthetic protocols, resulting in colored solutions, yielding powders or diffractable crystals. They are distinctly different from nanoparticles in their spectroscopic properties such as optical absorption and emission, showing well-defined features, just like molecules. They show isotopically resolved molecular ion peaks in mass spectra and provide diverse information when examined through multiple instrumental methods. Most important of these properties is luminescence, often in the visible–near-infrared window, useful in biological applications. Luminescence in the visible region, especially by clusters prot...

1,443 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A unified view of principles that underlie the stability of particles protected by thiolate or phosphine and halide ligands is provided and is best described by a “noble-gas superatom” analogy.
Abstract: Synthesis, characterization, and functionalization of self-assembled, ligand-stabilized gold nanoparticles are long-standing issues in the chemistry of nanomaterials. Factors driving the thermodynamic stability of well documented discrete sizes are largely unknown. Herein, we provide a unified view of principles that underlie the stability of particles protected by thiolate (SR) or phosphine and halide (PR3, X) ligands. The picture has emerged from analysis of large-scale density functional theory calculations of structurally characterized compounds, namely Au102(SR)44, Au39(PR3)14X6−, Au11(PR3)7X3, and Au13(PR3)10X23+, where X is either a halogen or a thiolate. Attributable to a compact, symmetric core and complete steric protection, each compound has a filled spherical electronic shell and a major energy gap to unoccupied states. Consequently, the exceptional stability is best described by a “noble-gas superatom” analogy. The explanatory power of this concept is shown by its application to many monomeric and oligomeric compounds of precisely known composition and structure, and its predictive power is indicated through suggestions offered for a series of anomalously stable cluster compositions which are still awaiting a precise structure determination.

1,398 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
01 Jul 2016-Science
TL;DR: A new view of protein folding is emerging, whereby the energy landscapes that proteins navigate during folding in vivo may differ substantially from those observed during refolding in vitro.
Abstract: Most proteins must fold into unique three-dimensional structures to perform their biological functions. In the crowded cellular environment, newly synthesized proteins are at risk of misfolding and forming toxic aggregate species. To ensure efficient folding, different classes of molecular chaperones receive the nascent protein chain emerging from the ribosome and guide it along a productive folding pathway. Because proteins are structurally dynamic, constant surveillance of the proteome by an integrated network of chaperones and protein degradation machineries is required to maintain protein homeostasis (proteostasis). The capacity of this proteostasis network declines during aging, facilitating neurodegeneration and other chronic diseases associated with protein aggregation. Understanding the proteostasis network holds the promise of identifying targets for pharmacological intervention in these pathologies.

1,009 citations