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The major myelin protein expressed by the peripheral nervous system Schwann cells is protein zero (P0), which represents 50% of the total protein content in myelin. This 30-kDa integral membrane protein consists of an immunoglobulin (Ig)-like domain, a transmembrane helix, and a 69-residue C-terminal cytoplasmic tail (P0ct). The basic residues in P0ct contribute to the tight packing of myelin lipid bilayers, and alterations in the tail affect how P0 functions as an adhesion molecule necessary for the stability of compact myelin. Several neurodegenerative neuropathies are related to P0, including the more common Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease (CMT) and Dejerine-Sottas syndrome (DSS) as well as rare cases of motor and sensory polyneuropathy. We found that high P0ct concentrations affected the membrane properties of bicelles and induced a lamellar-to-inverted hexagonal phase transition, which caused bicelles to fuse into long, protein-containing filament-like structures. These structures likely reflect the formation of semicrystalline lipid domains with potential relevance for myelination. Not only is P0ct important for stacking lipid membranes, but time-lapse fluorescence microscopy also shows that it might affect membrane properties during myelination. We further describe recombinant production and low-resolution structural characterization of full-length human P0. Our findings shed light on P0ct effects on membrane properties, and with the successful purification of full-length P0, we have new tools to study the role of P0 in myelin formation and maintenance in vitro., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The maintenance of genomic stability is essential for cellular viability and the prevention of diseases such as cancer. Human single-stranded DNA-binding protein 1 (hSSB1) is a protein with roles in the stabilisation and restart of stalled DNA replication forks, as well as in the repair of oxidative DNA lesions and double-strand DNA breaks. In the latter process, phosphorylation of threonine 117 by the ATM kinase is required for hSSB1 stability and efficient DNA repair. The regulation of hSSB1 in other DNA repair pathways has however remained unclear. Here we report that hSSB1 is also directly phosphorylated by DNA-PK at serine residue 134. While this modification is largely suppressed in undamaged cells by PPP-family protein phosphatases, S134 phosphorylation is enhanced following the disruption of replication forks and promotes cellular survival. Together, these data thereby represent a novel mechanism for hSSB1 regulation following the inhibition of replication., (Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

One method commonly used to characterize protein-DNA interactions is surface plasmon resonance (SPR). In a typical SPR experiment, chip-bound DNA is exposed to increasing concentrations of protein; the resulting binding data are used to calculate a dissociation constant for the interaction. However, in cases in which knowledge of the specificity of the interaction is required, a large set of DNA variants has to be tested; this is time consuming and costly, in part because of the requirement for multiple SPR chips. We have developed a new protocol that uses steady-state binding levels in SPR competition experiments to determine protein-binding dissociation constants for a set of DNA variants. This approach is rapid and straightforward and requires the use of only a single SPR chip. Additionally, in contrast to other methods, our approach does not require prior knowledge of parameters such as on or off rates, using an estimate of the wild-type interaction as the sole input. Utilizing relative steady-state responses, our protocol also allows for the rapid, reliable, and simultaneous determination of protein-binding dissociation constants of a large series of DNA mutants in a single experiment in a semiquantitative fashion. We compare our approach to existing methods, highlighting specific advantages as well as limitations., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)