@article {2018|2093,
	title = {Dystrophin{\textquoteright}s central domain forms a complex filament that becomes disorganized by in-frame deletions.},
	journal = {J Biol Chem},
	volume = {293},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018 05 04},
	pages = {6637-6646},
	abstract = {<p>Dystrophin, encoded by the gene, is critical for maintaining plasma membrane integrity during muscle contraction events. Mutations in the gene disrupting the reading frame prevent dystrophin production and result in severe Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD); in-frame internal deletions allow production of partly functional internally deleted dystrophin and result in less severe Becker muscular dystrophy (BMD). Many known BMD deletions occur in dystrophin\&$\#$39;s central domain, generally considered to be a monotonous rod-shaped domain based on the knowledge of spectrin family proteins. However, the effects caused by these deletions, ranging from asymptomatic to severe BMD, argue against the central domain serving only as a featureless scaffold. We undertook structural studies combining small-angle X-ray scattering and molecular modeling in an effort to uncover the structure of the central domain, as dystrophin has been refractory to characterization. We show that this domain appears to be a tortuous and complex filament that is profoundly disorganized by the most severe BMD deletion (loss of exons 45-47). Despite the preservation of large parts of the binding site for neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) in this deletion, computational approaches failed to recreate the association of dystrophin with nNOS. This observation is in agreement with a strong decrease of nNOS immunolocalization in muscle biopsies, a parameter related to the severity of BMD phenotypes. The structural description of the whole dystrophin central domain we present here is a first necessary step to improve the design of microdystrophin constructs toward the goal of a successful gene therapy for DMD.</p>
},
	keywords = {Binding Sites, Dystrophin, Exons, Gene Deletion, Humans, Molecular Docking Simulation, Muscular Dystrophy, Duchenne, Nitric Oxide Synthase Type I, Protein Domains, Reading Frames, Scattering, Small Angle, Solutions, X-Ray Diffraction},
	issn = {1083-351X},
	doi = {10.1074/jbc.M117.809798},
	author = {Delalande, Olivier and Molza, Anne-Elisabeth and Dos Santos Morais, Raphael and Ch{\'e}ron, Ang{\'e}lique and Pollet, {\'E}meline and Raguenes-Nicol, C{\'e}line and Tascon, Christophe and Giudice, Emmanuel and Guilbaud, Marine and Nicolas, Aur{\'e}lie and Bondon, Arnaud and Leturcq, France and Nicolas F{\'e}rey and Marc Baaden and Perez, Javier and Roblin, Pierre and Pi{\'e}tri-Rouxel, France and Hubert, Jean-Fran{\c c}ois and Czjzek, Mirjam and Le Rumeur, Elisabeth}
}
@article {2018|2094,
	title = {Holding the Nucleosome Together: A Quantitative Description of the DNA-Histone Interface in Solution.},
	journal = {J Chem Theory Comput},
	volume = {14},
	year = {2018},
	month = {2018 Feb 13},
	pages = {1045-1058},
	abstract = {<p>The nucleosome is the fundamental unit of eukaryotic genome packaging in the chromatin. In this complex, the DNA wraps around eight histone proteins to form a superhelical double helix. The resulting bending, stronger than anything observed in free DNA, raises the question of how such a distortion is stabilized by the proteic and solvent environments. In this work, the DNA-histone interface in solution was exhaustively analyzed from nucleosome structures generated by molecular dynamics. An original Voronoi tessellation technique, measuring the topology of interacting elements without any empirical or subjective adjustment, was used to characterize the interface in terms of contact area and occurrence. Our results revealed an interface more robust than previously known, combining extensive, long-lived nonelectrostatic and electrostatic interactions between DNA and both structured and unstructured histone regions. Cation accumulation makes the proximity of juxtaposed DNA gyres in the superhelix possible by shielding the strong electrostatic repulsion of the charged phosphate groups. Overall, this study provides new insights on the nucleosome cohesion, explaining how DNA distortions can be maintained in a nucleoprotein complex.</p>
},
	keywords = {DNA, Histones, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Nucleosomes, Solutions, Static Electricity},
	issn = {1549-9626},
	doi = {10.1021/acs.jctc.7b00936},
	author = {Elbahnsi, Ahmad and Retureau, Romain and Marc Baaden and Hartmann, Brigitte and Oguey, Christophe}
}
