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Mass Spectrometry Group James G. Smedley III, Ph.D.
IRTA Fellow Tel (919) 316-4706 Fax (919) 541-0220 smedleyj2@niehs.nih.gov P.O. Box 12233 Mail Drop F0-04 Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709 Delivery Instructions The focus of my research in the Mass Spectrometry Group centers on using mass spectrometry as a tool to probe protein structure and to evaluate protein-protein interactions, particularly those involved in microbial pathogenesis. In situations where the three dimensional structure is unsolved, or when more dynamic structural information is needed, mass spectrometry has many advantages to standard structural methodologies. I am currently involved with several projects looking at the structure of the anthrax toxin from the bioterrorism bacterium, Bacillus anthracis. Using a technique called oxidative protein footprinting, the solvent accessibilities of amino acids of protective antigen (PA) are being probed differentially when the PA heptamer is in its prepore or pore conformational states. Results from this analysis can shed light on the dynamics of this critical conformational change and provide empirical structural information of the PA pore where it is currently lacking. Additionally, I am also trying to identify structural determinants of PA responsible for the generation of anti-PA monoclonal antibodies which enhance anthrax toxin lethality instead of neutralizing it. As a safe and efficacious third generation recombinant PA vaccine is being currently being sought by the U.S. government and others, a detailed characterization of immunogenic regions of PA is becoming increasingly more important. Other projects I am currently involved within the group include examining intra- and inter-molecular interactions of the pore-forming toxin Clostridium perfringens enterotoxin, searching for serum biomarkers for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease), and analyzing the oxidation kinetics of Spo0F from Bacillus subtillis. James G. Smedley III, Ph.D., is a postdoctoral Intramural Research Training Award (IRTA) Fellow in the Mass Spectrometry Group within the Laboratory of Structural Biology. He received his B.S. degree from the University of Delaware, his M.S. degree from Duquesne University and his Ph.D. from the Molecular Virology and Microbiology Graduate Program at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine. |
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