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Thelma A. Pertinhez

Bio: Thelma A. Pertinhez is an academic researcher from University of Parma. The author has contributed to research in topics: Peptide & Protein structure. The author has an hindex of 26, co-authored 88 publications receiving 2070 citations. Previous affiliations of Thelma A. Pertinhez include University of Oxford & Federal University of São Paulo.


Papers
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, UniVersity of Parma, Via G.P. Usberti 17/A 43100, Parma; Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Structural Biology & Drug DiscoVery, Virginia Commonwealth Uni Versity, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0540.
Abstract: Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, UniVersity of Parma, Via G.P. Usberti 17/A 43100, Parma, Italy, National Institute for Biosystems and Biostructures, Rome, Italy, Department of Medicinal Chemistry and Institute for Structural Biology & Drug DiscoVery, Virginia Commonwealth UniVersity, Richmond, Virginia 23298-0540, Department of Pharmaceutics, UniVersity of Parma, Via GP Usberti 27/A, 43100 Parma, Italy, High Performance Systems, CINECA Supercomputing Centre, Casalecchio di Reno, Bologna, Italy, Dulbecco Telethon Institute, Department of Chemistry, UniVersity of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Via Campi 183, 41100 Modena, Italy, Department of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, Pharmaceutical Institute, Christian-Albrechts-UniVersity, Gutenbergstrasse 76, 24118 Kiel, Germany, Departments of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, Computer Science & Engineering, and Physics & Astronomy, Michigan State UniVersity, East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1319, Department of Molecular Biology, MB-5, The Scripps Research Institute, 10550 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, California 92037-1000, Molecular Modeling and Bioinformatics Unit, Institute of Biomedical Research, Scientific Park of Barcelona, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, UniVersity of Barcelona, Josep Samitier 1-5, Barcelona 08028, Spain, Department of Experimental Medicine, UniVersity of Parma, Via Volturno, 39, 43100, Parma, Italy, Department of Chemical, Food, Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, UniVersity of Piemonte Orientale “Amedeo AVogadro”, Via BoVio 6, 28100 NoVara, Italy, Institute of Pharmacy and Food Chemistry, UniVersity of Wurzburg, Am Hubland, D-97074 Wurzburg, Germany

273 citations

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TL;DR: The data demonstrate that when the native state of this cytochrome is destabilised by loss of haem, even this highly α‐helical protein can form β‐sheet structures of the type most commonly associated with protein deposition diseases.

124 citations

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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors focused on the characterization of inclusion complexes of BZC in β-cyclodextrin (β-CD) and showed that a three-fold increase in BZc solubility can be achieved upon complexation with β-CD.

104 citations

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TL;DR: The results suggest that CP might be involved in polysaccharide recognition and that the double ψβ-barrel fold is widespread in distantly related organisms, where it is often involved in host-microbe interactions.

95 citations

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TL;DR: The results demonstrate the utility of heteronuclear NMR in the study of mobile regions of large biological complexes and form the basis for further NMR studies of functional ribosomal complexes in the context of protein synthesis.
Abstract: 15N-(1)H NMR spectroscopy has been used to probe the dynamic properties of uniformly (15)N labeled Escherichia coli ribosomes. Despite the high molecular weight of the complex ( approximately 2.3 MDa), [(1)H-(15)N] heteronuclear single-quantum correlation spectra contain approximately 100 well resolved resonances, the majority of which arise from two of the four C-terminal domains of the stalk proteins, L7/L12. Heteronuclear pulse-field gradient NMR experiments show that the resonances arise from species with a translational diffusion constant consistent with that of the intact ribosome. Longitudinal relaxation time (T(1)) and T(1 rho) (15)N-spin relaxation measurements show that the observable domains tumble anisotropically, with an apparent rotational correlation time significantly longer than that expected for a free L7/L12 domain but much shorter than expected for a protein rigidly incorporated within the ribosomal particle. The relaxation data allow the ribosomally bound C-terminal domains to be oriented relative to the rotational diffusion tensor. Binding of elongation factor G to the ribosome results in the disappearance of the resonances of the L7/L12 domains, indicating a dramatic reduction in their mobility. This result is in agreement with cryoelectron microscopy studies showing that the ribosomal stalk assumes a single rigid orientation upon elongation factor G binding. As well as providing information about the dynamical properties of L7/L12, these results demonstrate the utility of heteronuclear NMR in the study of mobile regions of large biological complexes and form the basis for further NMR studies of functional ribosomal complexes in the context of protein synthesis.

91 citations


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12 Dec 2007-Nature
TL;DR: The dream is to 'watch' proteins in action in real time at atomic resolution, which requires addition of a fourth dimension, time, to structural biology so that the positions in space and time of all atoms in a protein can be described in detail.
Abstract: Because proteins are central to cellular function, researchers have sought to uncover the secrets of how these complex macromolecules execute such a fascinating variety of functions. Although static structures are known for many proteins, the functions of proteins are governed ultimately by their dynamic character (or 'personality'). The dream is to 'watch' proteins in action in real time at atomic resolution. This requires addition of a fourth dimension, time, to structural biology so that the positions in space and time of all atoms in a protein can be described in detail.

2,109 citations

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TL;DR: This review is intended to give a general background to the use of cyclodextrin as solubilizers as well as highlight kinetic and thermodynamic tools and parameters useful in the study of drug Solubilization bycyclodextrins.

1,674 citations

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TL;DR: This review focuses on various potential applications of supramolecular hydrogels as molecular biomaterials, classified by their applications in cell cultures, tissue engineering, cell behavior, imaging, and unique applications of hydrogelators.
Abstract: In this review we intend to provide a relatively comprehensive summary of the work of supramolecular hydrogelators after 2004 and to put emphasis particularly on the applications of supramolecular hydrogels/hydrogelators as molecular biomaterials. After a brief introduction of methods for generating supramolecular hydrogels, we discuss supramolecular hydrogelators on the basis of their categories, such as small organic molecules, coordination complexes, peptides, nucleobases, and saccharides. Following molecular design, we focus on various potential applications of supramolecular hydrogels as molecular biomaterials, classified by their applications in cell cultures, tissue engineering, cell behavior, imaging, and unique applications of hydrogelators. Particularly, we discuss the applications of supramolecular hydrogelators after they form supramolecular assemblies but prior to reaching the critical gelation concentration because this subject is less explored but may hold equally great promise for helping ...

1,395 citations

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TL;DR: Computer-aided drug discovery/design methods have played a major role in the development of therapeutically important small molecules for over three decades and theory behind the most important methods and recent successful applications are discussed.
Abstract: Computer-aided drug discovery/design methods have played a major role in the development of therapeutically important small molecules for over three decades. These methods are broadly classified as either structure-based or ligand-based methods. Structure-based methods are in principle analogous to high-throughput screening in that both target and ligand structure information is imperative. Structure-based approaches include ligand docking, pharmacophore, and ligand design methods. The article discusses theory behind the most important methods and recent successful applications. Ligand-based methods use only ligand information for predicting activity depending on its similarity/dissimilarity to previously known active ligands. We review widely used ligand-based methods such as ligand-based pharmacophores, molecular descriptors, and quantitative structure-activity relationships. In addition, important tools such as target/ligand data bases, homology modeling, ligand fingerprint methods, etc., necessary for successful implementation of various computer-aided drug discovery/design methods in a drug discovery campaign are discussed. Finally, computational methods for toxicity prediction and optimization for favorable physiologic properties are discussed with successful examples from literature.

1,362 citations

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TL;DR: The aim of this article is to review the literature on the molecular mechanism of protein misfolding and aggregation, its role in Neurodegeneration and the potential targets for therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases.
Abstract: Recent evidence indicates that diverse neurodegenerative diseases might have a common cause and pathological mechanism — the misfolding, aggregation and accumulation of proteins in the brain, resulting in neuronal apoptosis. Studies from different disciplines strongly support this hypothesis and indicate that a common therapy for these devastating disorders might be possible. The aim of this article is to review the literature on the molecular mechanism of protein misfolding and aggregation, its role in neurodegeneration and the potential targets for therapeutic intervention in neurodegenerative diseases. Many questions still need to be answered and future research in this field will result in exciting new discoveries that might impact other areas of biology.

1,355 citations