Pingfeng Zhang

Abstract DltB, a model member of the Membrane-Bound O-AcylTransferase (MBOAT) superfamily, plays a crucial role in D-alanylation of the lipoteichoic acid (LTA), a significant component of the cell wall of gram-positive bacteria. This process stabilizes the cell wall structure, influences bacterial virulence, and modulates the host immune response. Despite its significance, the role of DltB is not well understood.

Mice Experiments involving animals adhered to a protocol with approval from Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) at Georgetown University. The animals were accommodated in well-ventilated cages with regulated temperature between 20 °C and 26 °C, with humidity levels within the range of 30–70%, with a 12-h light/dark cycle and having unrestricted access to food and water. No more than five mice lived in one cage.

Crystal structure of the FERM-folded talin head reveals the determinants for integrin binding Pingfeng Zhang, Latifeh Azizi, Sampo Kukkurainen, Tong Gao, Mo Baikoghli, Marie-Claude Jacquier, Yijuan Sun, Juha A. E. Määttä, R. Holland Cheng, Bernhard Wehrle-Haller, Vesa P. Hytönen, Jinhua Wu Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Dec 2020, 202014583; DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2014583117