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AG Tavan - Projects
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Computation of structure, electrostatics, and conformational dynamics of PrPC induced by binding of Cu(II) (Protein dynamics in their native environment) This project is funded by the Bayerische Forschungsverbund Prionen. It is part of a joint effort entitled "Cu(II) binding of cellular prion protein: influence on structure and conformational dynamics" in which we cooperate with the groups of Hans Kretzschmar (Institute for Neuropathology, LMU), Luis Moroder (MPI for Biochemistry, Bioorganic Chemistry, Martinsried), Fritz Parak (Experimental Physics, Biophysics, TUM). To support our experimental colleagues and to gain insights into processes at the molecular level we develop and apply methods of computer simulation. With our computational methods we -derive PrPC peptide and protein structures from experimental data gained by our partners, -enable insights into the conformational dynamics of such structures and -identify soft collective degrees of freedom. Particular attention is paid to the electrostatic properties of the prion proteins in their native environment. For the significance and the scientific background of our joint project we refer to an article by Herms and Kretzschmar (only in German).
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