Scientists at the University of Notre Dame have discovered that certain protein-based antibodies that exist in the human body are not static, as once thought, but are actually in constant motion. The antibodies bind to certain antigens in the human body (cells that contain viruses or harmful bacteria) and inhibit the cell from performing any more potentially dangerous functions. The bending of the proteins is extremely important so that they are able to change shape when they encounter different pathogens in order to bind onto them. Proteins that fail to change to the right shape will not be able to inhibit harmful pathogens. This discovery has changed the way many people are looking at many forms of medicine that mimic biological structures, such as vaccinations for example. Scientists have discovered that vaccines can help the immune system fight cancer, but these protein structures can still be unsuccessful if they do not look at the changing dynamic motion.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100121150750.htm
Posted by Bridget Malato
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The bending and formation of proteins is extremely important in the immune system's fight against HIV virions. Because of errors from sloppy DNA replication, HIV is continually mutating and changing its phenotypic structure. The immune system can't bend quickly enough to tag and contain all the new variations of the virus which unfortunately leads to our own demise.
ReplyDeleteThe simplest and most common bond is the hydrogen bond and it is this bond that holds the double helix together. A mismatch in the DNA phosphates is due to the mismatch of the chemical compounds. This simple molecular mistake has macroscopic and usually dire consequences which makes chemistry all the more interesting in relation to biology.
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