The Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry
Charles E. BellAssociate Professor |
 |
Ph.D. - University of California, Los Angeles |
Post Doctoral - University of Pennsylvania |
|
Research in the Bell Lab is focused on the structural
biology of homologous recombination, an important mechanism in all cells for repairing double-
stranded DNA breaks. One area of interest is the E. coli RecA protein, which is important
as a model system for understanding the underlying mechanistic principles of homologous
recombination. RecA is a DNA-dependant ATPase that forms a right-handed helical filament on
single stranded DNA, within which the homologous alignment and DNA strand-exchange steps of
homologous recombination occur. We are interested in understanding the molecular details of the
protein-protein and protein-nucleic acid interactions, as well as the ATP-mediated conformational
changes that coordinate the strand-exchange reaction. The research combines the powerful technique
of x-ray crystallography to obtain high resolution structural information, with other biochemical
and biophysical methods to arrive at a complete understanding of the structure/function of RecA and
other proteins involved in this important DNA repair process. |
Recent Publications: |
|
Bohl CE, Wu Z, Miller DD, Bell CE and Dalton JT (2007) "Crystal structure of the T877A human androgen receptor ligand-binding domain complexed to cyproterone acetate provides insight for ligand-induced conformational changes and structure-based drug design" J Biol Chem 282(18), 13648-55. Ndjonka D and Bell CE (2006) "Structure of a Hyper-cleavable Monomeric Fragment of Phage λ Repressor Containing the Cleavage Site Region" J Mol Biol 362(3), 479-89. Wu Z, Xing X, Bohl CE, Wisler JW, Dalton JT and Bell CE (2006) "Domain structured DNA binding regions of β protein from Bacteriophage λ" J Biol Chem 281(35), 25205-14. Shen G, Rajan R, Zhu J, Bell CE and Pei D (2006) "Design and synthesis of substrate and intermediate analogue inhibitors of S-ribosylhomocysteinase" J Med Chem 49, 3003-11. Rajan R, Wisler JD and Bell CE (2006) "Probing the DNA sequence specificity of Escherichia coli RECA protein" Nucleic Acids Res 34(8), 2463-71. Wilson RC, Bohlen CJ, Foster MP and Bell CE (2006) "Structure of Pfu Pop5, an archaeal RNase P protein" Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103(4), 873-8. Bell CE (2005) MicroReview: "Structure and mechanism of Escherichia coli RecA ATPase" Mol Microbiol 58, 358-366. Bohl CE, Gau W, Miller DD, Bell CE and Dalton JT (2005) "Structural basis for antagonism and resistance of bicalutamide in prostate cancer" Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102, 6201-6206. Bohl CE, Miller DD, Chen J, Bell CE and Dalton JT (2005) "Structural basis for accommodation of nonsteroidal ligands in the androgen receptor" J Biol Chem 280, 37747-37754. Rajan R, Zhu J, Hu, Pei D and Bell CE (2005) "Crystal structure of S ribosylhomocysteinase (LuxS) in complex with a catalytic 2-keystone intermediate" Biochemistry 44, 3745-3753. Xing X and Bell CE (2004) "Crystal Structures of Escherichia coli RecA in a compressed helical filament" J Mol Biol 342, 1471-1485. Rajan R and Bell CE (2004) "Crystal Structure of RecA from Deinococcus radiodurans: Insights into the structure basis of extreme radioresistance" J Mol Biol 344, 951-963. Xing X and Bell CE (2004) "Crystal structures of Escherichia coli RecA in complex with MgADP and MnAMP-PNP" Biochemistry 43, 16142-16152.
Bell CE and Lewis M (2001) "The Lac repressor: a second generation of structural and functional
studies" Curr Opin Struct Biol 11(1), 19-25. |
Last Modified: 10/10/07