Teaching and Research at the Interface of Chemistry and Biology

化学与生物学交叉领域的教学与研究

• 批准号: 9623828
• 负责人: Nicole Sampson
• 金额: $ 30.79万
• 依托单位: SUNY at Stony Brook
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1996
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1996-04-01 至 2000-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=9623828&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Teaching; Research; Interface; Chemistry; Biology

The focus of this research is to investigate protein-protein interactions that occur during mammalian fertilization. The ligand interactions that occur upon binding of the sperm protein fertilin to the egg plasma membrane, presumably at a receptor, will be dissected. Specifically, peptido-mimetics of the glutamate- cysteine-aspartate disintegrin loop and the epidermal growth factor-like module of fertilin will be synthesized and tested for their ability to inhibit sperm-egg fusion. Mutant peptides will be tested to identify residues important for inhibition and good inhibitors will be developed into affinity labels. These labels will be used to identify the receptor(s) in the egg-plasma membrane. Also, the domains of fertilin will be expressed using recombinant DNA methodology and will be tested for their ability to inhibit sperm-egg fusion. The domains will be used as affinity ligands for the isolation of their receptors and information about the structure of the domains will be obtained with NMR spectroscopy. Site-directed mutagenesis experiments will identify residues important for binding, fusion and signaling. The educational plan will focus on undergraduate course development and also on the development of a Ph.D. training program at the interface of chemistry and biology. With this CAREER award, the Synthetic Organic Program supports the research and educational activities of Dr. Nicole S. Sampson of the Department of Chemistry at SUNY, Stony Brook. Professor Sampson will focus her research efforts on investigating the protein-protein interactions that occur during mammalian fertilization. The benefit of the work lies in the development of better, more specific contraceptives and in discovering the genetic reasons for infertility which could then be circumvented. The educational plan will focus on the development of an undergraduate course on trends in biological chemistry and the the construction of a teaching plan for a Ph.D. training program at the interface of chemistry and biology.

本研究的重点是研究哺乳动物受精过程中发生的蛋白质-蛋白质相互作用。在精子蛋白受精与卵质膜结合时发生的配体相互作用，可能是在一个受体上，将被剖析。具体来说，将合成谷氨酸-半胱氨酸-天冬氨酸分解素环的肽模拟物和受精的表皮生长因子样模块，并测试它们抑制精子-卵子融合的能力。突变肽将被测试以确定对抑制重要的残基，而好的抑制剂将被开发成亲和标签。这些标签将用于识别卵质膜中的受体。此外，将使用重组DNA方法表达受精区域，并将测试其抑制精子-卵子融合的能力。这些结构域将被用作亲和配体，用于分离它们的受体，有关结构域的信息将通过核磁共振波谱获得。位点定向诱变实验将确定对结合、融合和信号传导重要的残基。该教育计划将侧重于本科课程的发展，以及化学和生物学交叉领域的博士培养项目的发展。有了这个职业奖，合成有机项目支持了纽约州立大学石溪分校化学系Nicole S. Sampson博士的研究和教育活动。桑普森教授将把她的研究重点放在研究哺乳动物受精过程中蛋白质与蛋白质之间的相互作用上。这项工作的好处在于开发出更好、更具体的避孕药具，并发现可规避的不孕不育的遗传原因。该教育计划将侧重于发展生物化学趋势的本科课程和构建化学和生物学交叉领域博士培养项目的教学计划。