THE rational design of proteins requires knowledge of the helix-forming propensities (s-values)
of the different amino acids. There is, however, considerable controversy about the …

Aromatic side-chains are found in the vicinity of histidine residues in many proteins and
protein complexes. We have studied the interaction between a histidine residue (His18) and …

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is characterized by a progressive loss of dopaminergic neurons, a
process that current therapeutic approaches cannot prevent. In PD, the typical pathological …

Phenylketonuria (PKU) is an inborn error of metabolism caused by mutations in phenylalanine
hydroxylase (PAH). Over 500 disease-causing mutations have been identified in humans, …

The importance of amino acid side-chains in helix stability has been investigated by making
a series of mutations at the N-caps, C-caps and internal positions of the solvent-exposed …

MATERIALS AND METHODS Materials. Urea (ultrapure enzyme grade) was obtained from
Bethesda Research Laboratories,(Bethesda, MD). SP-Trisacryl was from IBF (Villeneuve-La-…

Gaucher disease (GD) is a disorder of glycosphinglipid metabolism caused by deficiency of
lysosomal acid β-glucosidase (GC), resulting in progressive deposition of glucosylceramide …

Pepsin is an aspartic protease that acts in food digestion in the mammal stomach. An optimal
pH of around 2 allows pepsin to operate in its natural acidic environment, while at neutral …

Background The stability of proteins is governed by the heat capacity, enthalpy and entropy
changes of folding, which are strongly correlated to the change in solvent accessible surface …

An increasing number of neurodegenerative diseases are being found to be associated with
the abnormal accumulation of aggregated proteins in the brain. In Parkinson’s disease, this …