David W. Christianson

Binding of a Macrocyclic Nonapeptide Inhibitor to Histone Deacetylase 6

The paper reports the crystal structure of HDAC6 CD2 complexed with a macrocyclic nonapeptide inhibitor, revealing key interactions that contribute to its inhibitory potency.

Isoprenoid Binding and Substrate Channeling in Drimenol Synthase, a Bifunctional Class II Terpene Cyclase-Phosphatase

This paper reports crystal structures of a bifunctional terpene cyclase-phosphatase enzyme and provides kinetic evidence for substrate channeling in its wild-type form.

Improved Protein Semi-Synthesis Enables Biophysical Studies of Thioamide Destabilization of β-Sheet Interactions

This paper develops a method to synthesize thioamide-containing proteins and shows they destabilize β-sheet structures in GB1 and α-synuclein fibrils.

Covalent Binding of Boronic Acid-Based Inhibitor GSK4394835A to Phosphodiesterase 3B, a Drug Target for Cardiovascular Disease

The paper re-analyzes the crystal structure of PDE3B bound to GSK4394835A, revealing it as a reversible covalent inhibitor through boronate anion formation.

Structure and Mechanism of Avermitilol Synthase, a Sesquiterpene Cyclase that Generates a Highly Strained 6-6-3 Tricyclic Alcohol

This paper investigates the mechanism of avermitilol synthase, revealing how trapped water molecules influence product specificity through structural and enzymological studies.

Cryo-EM Structure of the Cyclase Domain and Evaluation of Substrate Channeling in a Bifunctional Class II Terpene Synthase

The paper reports the cryo-EM structure of a fungal class II terpene synthase cyclase domain and shows substrate channeling between its prenyltransferase and cyclase functions.

Structure of Bifunctional Variediene Synthase Yields Unique Insight on Biosynthetic Diterpene Assembly and Cyclization

The paper presents the first structure of a bifunctional terpene synthase, revealing its architecture and suggesting how GGPP might be transferred between domains.

DREDge: robust motion correction for high-density extracellular recordings across species

DREDge improves motion correction in high-density extracellular recordings across species, enhancing reliability and reducing errors in electrophysiological data.

Mechanism-Based Inhibition of Histone Deacetylase 6 by a Selenocyanate is Subject to Redox Modulation

This study investigates how a selenocyanate inhibitor of histone deacetylase 6 is modulated by redox reactions to form an active selenolate anion.

Crystal Structure and Catalytic Mechanism of Drimenol Synthase, a Bifunctional Terpene Cyclase-Phosphatase

This study reports the crystal structure and mechanism of AsDMS, a bifunctional terpene cyclase-phosphatase, revealing its unique dual activity and substrate promiscuity.

Investigation of Disease-Relevant Lysine Acetylation Sites in α-Synuclein Enabled by Non-canonical Amino Acid Mutagenesis

This study investigates how acetylation of specific lysine sites in α-synuclein affects aggregation and function, identifying K80 acetylation as a potential therapeutic target.

Engineering Substrate Channeling in Assembly-Line Terpene Biosynthesis

This study shows that substrate channeling in PaFS occurs without a flexible linker or covalent domain linkage, and that cyclase domains associate with the prenyltransferase octamer for optimal channeling.

A frontal cortical network is critical for language planning during spoken interaction

This study shows that stimulating specific frontal cortical regions during spoken interaction leads to language planning deficits and response errors.