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2 Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems

2 2017

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In silico study of the structure and function of Streptococcus mutans plasmidic proteins

Caprari S., Minervini G., Brandi V., Polticelli F.

Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems

2017

Vol. 13, no. 2

51--61

The Gram-positive bacterium Streptococcus mutans is the principal causative agent of human tooth decay, an oral disease that affects the majority of the world’s population. Although the complete S. mutans genome is known, approximately 700 proteins are still annotated as hypothetical proteins, as no threedimensional structure or homology with known proteins exists for them. Thus, the significant portion of genomic sequences coding for unknown-function proteins makes the knowledge of pathogenicity and survival mechanisms of S. mutans still incomplete. Plasmids are found in virtually every species of Streptococcus, and some of these mediate resistance to antibiotics and pathogenesis. However, there are strains of S. mutans that contain plasmids, such as LM7 and UA140, to which no function has been assigned yet. In this work, we describe an in silico study of the structure and function of all the S. mutans proteins encoded by pLM7 and pUA140 plasmids to gain insight into their biological function. A combination of different structural bioinformatics methodologies led to the identification of plasmidic proteins potentially required for the bacterial survival and pathogenicity. The structural information obtained on these proteins can be used to select novel targets for the design of innovative therapeutic agents towards S. mutans.

An improved structural model of the human iron exporter ferroportin. Insight into the role of pathogenic mutations in hereditary hemochromatosis type 4

Tortosa V., Bonaccorsi di Patti M. C., Brandi V., Musci G., Polticelli F.

Bio-Algorithms and Med-Systems

2017

Vol. 13, no. 4

215--222

Ferroportin (Fpn) is a membrane protein representing the major cellular iron exporter, essential for metal translocation from cells into plasma. Despite its pivotal role in human iron homeostasis, many questions on Fpn structure and biology remain unanswered. In this work, we present two novel and more reliable structural models of human Fpn (hFpn; inward-facing and outwardfacing conformations) obtained using as templates the recently solved crystal structures of a bacterial homologue of hFpn, Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus Fpn. In the absence of an experimentally solved structure of hFpn, the structural predictions described here allow to analyze the role of pathogenic mutations in the Fpn-linked hereditary hemochromatosis disease and represent a valuable alternative for reliable structure-based functional studies on this human iron exporter.