Trembling hands and molecular handshakes
Sunday, October 25, 2009 - 01:49
in Biology & Nature
Fragile X tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a recently recognized condition, which is actually one of the most prevalent heritable neurodegenerative diseases. It is assumed that the condition is caused by deficiency for the protein Pur-alpha, which is essential for normal neural function. Structural studies undertaken by a team under the leadership of Dr. Dierk Niessing of the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Gene Center at Ludwigs-Maximilians-University (LMU) have now determined the three-dimensional structure of Pur-alpha, and gained insights into the molecular function of the protein. The findings provide a possible basis for the development of an effective therapy for the disease.(PNAS Early Edition, 21. Oktober 2009)
Read the whole article on Biology News Net
More from Biology News Net
Related
- Trembling hands and molecular handshakesFri, 23 Oct 2009, 11:59:34 EDT
- New genes at work in patients with hereditary lung diseaseMon, 10 Aug 2009, 17:25:27 EDT
- Munich researchers discover key allergy geneFri, 22 Aug 2008, 11:16:07 EDT
- The APCs of nerve cell functionWed, 18 Jun 2008, 20:29:13 EDT
- Protein structure determined in living cellsThu, 5 Mar 2009, 10:25:50 EST