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Gaetano T. Montelione
Professor
Rutgers University
Dept. of Molecular Biology & Biochemistry
CABM, Room 014A
679 Hoes Lane
Piscataway, NJ 08854
(732) 235-5321
FAX - 5633
guy@cabm.rutgers.edu |
New NMR methods development, molecular recognition, growth factors, protein:
nucleic acid complexes, molecular dynamics, structural bioinformatics, protein folding
The general aim of our research is to use NMR spectroscopy
as a tool for protein engineering and structural bioinformatics. We develop
new methods for protein solution structure determination and apply these
techniques to proteins of pharmaceutical or medical interest. The combined
methods of site-directed mutagenesis, NMR spectroscopy, and conformational
energy calculations are being used to (1) determine three dimensional structures
of small proteins in solution, (2) determine the structures of protein-protein, protein-receptor, and protein-nucleic acid complexes, (3) characterize
effects of amino acid substitutions on protein structure, stability, and
dynamics, (4) direct efforts to design and engineer proteins and provide
information for rational drug design, and (5) study the molecular mechanisms
by which proteins fold into their biologically-active conformations. We
are currently working on structure determination and refinement of several
DNA-and RNA-binding proteins. We have recently determined solution structures
of an IgG-binding domain of staphylococcal Protein A and of an RNA-binding
protein from E.coli which is overproduced in response to cold shock (Cold
Shock Protein A). We have characterized structural changes in these molecules
which are required for binding to IgG proteins or to nucleic acids. Nuclear
relaxation time measurements are used to characterize intramolecular motion
in these small proteins. This research has important implications in the
fields of protein physical chemistry, molecular design, receptor-ligand
interactions, and oncogenesis. We are attempting to develop a general strategy
for using structural analysis by NMR as a means of deciphering the biochemical
functions of new genes identified in the human genome project.
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