Abstract
We report the analysis of the vibrational modes of intranuclear protein inclusions isolated from the brain of human subjects with the Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS). In this preliminary study, Raman spectra of optically trapped inclusions were measured and analysed to determine protein composition and structure. Our main findings are as follows:(1) ThespectraofproteininclusionsarecharacteristicofH2AandH2Bhistones, whichcorrelatewithpreviousmassspectrometry (MS) studies; (2) Tyrosine is present in its OH form and exposed at the protein surface; (3) Zn and to a lesser extent Cu bound to histidine side chains are detected in the inclusions; (4) The tryptophan side-chain torsion angle is calculated to be 102° (5) Several potential spectroscopic markers for the inclusions of FXTAS are identified. Theseresults show the capability of using laser tweezers Raman spectroscopy to identify protein inclusions in a non-perturbative way and to gain further insight into the pathogenesis and progression of FXTAS in human subjects and in experimental models of this disorder.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 33-39 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Raman Spectroscopy |
Volume | 41 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2010 |
Keywords
- Fragilex-associated tremor/ataxiasyndrome
- Intranuclearinclusions
- Lasertweezers
- Proteininclusions
- Ramanspectroscopy
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Spectroscopy
- Materials Science(all)