Dynamic Phosphorylation of the C Terminus of Hsp70 Regulates the Mitochondrial Import of SOD2 and Redox Balance.

The import of superoxide dismutase-2 (SOD2) into mitochondria is vital for the survival of eukaryotic cells. SOD2 is encoded within the nuclear genome and translocated into mitochondria for activation after translation in the cytosol. The molecular chaperone Hsp70 modulates SOD2 activity by promoting import of SOD2 into mitochondria. In turn, the activity of Hsp70 is controlled by co-chaperones, particularly CHIP, which directs Hsp70-bound proteins for degradation in the proteasomes. We investigated the mechanisms controlling the activity of SOD2 to signal activation and maintain mitochondrial redox balance. We demonstrate that Akt1 binds to and phosphorylates the C terminus of Hsp70 on Serine631, which inhibits CHIP-mediated SOD2 degradation thereby stabilizing and promoting SOD2 import. Conversely, increased mitochondrial-H2O2 formation disrupts Akt1-mediated phosphorylation of Hsp70, and non-phosphorylatable Hsp70 mutants decrease SOD2 import, resulting in mitochondrial oxidative stress. Our findings identify Hsp70 phosphorylation as a physiological mechanism essential for regulation of mitochondrial redox balance.

Modifications of ampicillin structure and its implication: an in-silico approach.

Structural modifications of the existing ampicillin are much needed for saving patients from ampicillin-resistant microorganisms. A number of new molecules were generated by side chain modification of the existing ampicillin structure. Armed with molecular docking softwares like FlexiDOC, GLIDE, and AutoDOCK, a docking study was performed. Interaction between new molecules and target protein (1W2N) was also executed. Finally, we arranged new molecules according to docking scores, which directly reflects the binding affinity to the receptor protein.