1 / 12

SMART Team 2012

SMART Team 2012. Matthew Gargulak. What is SMART Team?. SMART Team is a program run by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, in which students study professional research on a specific protein, and then use a program called “ jmol ” to create a 3D model of the protein.

percy
Download Presentation

SMART Team 2012

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. SMART Team 2012 Matthew Gargulak

  2. What is SMART Team? • SMART Team is a program run by the Milwaukee School of Engineering, in which students study professional research on a specific protein, and then use a program called “jmol” to create a 3D model of the protein. http://people.msoe.edu/~uphoff/images/msoe.jpg http://screenshots.de.sftcdn.net/de/scrn/79000/79152/jmol-5.jpg

  3. The Black Plague • The most deadly epidemic in human history • Claimed almost 100,000,000 lives (~30-60% of Europe) • First encountered in Sicily in 1347 • Covered every inch of Europe by 1353 • Epidemic didn’t end until 1671 • Minor outbreaks have been recorded as recently as 1908, and the most recent isolated case appeared in 2009 • It’s still very much alive today

  4. Comes in three forms: • Bubonic (lymphatic infection) • Pneumonic (respiratory infection) • Septicemic (blood infection) • All caused by the same bacteria: Yersinia pestis • The bacteria is found naturally in fleas, and is transmitted by the flea’s bite. • Causes intense flu-like symptoms, swollen lymph nodes, and guaranteed death after roughly three days. • Once infected, it spreads throughout the body at an alarmingly fast rate. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flea_infected_with_yersinia_pestis.jpg http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Yersinia_pestis.jpg http://uhavax.hartford.edu/bugl/images/buboneck.jpg

  5. But Why is it So Deadly? http://s3.hubimg.com/u/4780306_f520.jpg

  6. Y.pestis is a gram-negative bacteria http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gram-Cell-wall.svg http://www.rkm.com.au/BACTERIA/Yersinia-pestis.html

  7. Fibrin and Clotting • Fibrin is a fiber-like protein that is found naturally in the blood stream. • It allows blood clots to form by creating a sort of net around the wound. • Usually, this “net” helps to contain bacteria from an infection and prevent it from spreading. • If a clot becomes too large, it can block off an entire blood vessel, leading to a condition called “thrombosis” http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_ljie81F2VQ1qcmrkno1_500.jpg

  8. Plasmin and Plasminogen • Too keep fibrin clots from becoming too large, your blood also contains a protein called “plasminogen”. • Plasminogen doesn’t do much its own, but under certain conditions it will itself generate an enzyme called “plasmin”. • Plasmin dissolves fibrin to break up clots. • Plasminogen is usually activated by a number of natural activators that the body creates.

  9. What Does this all Have to Do With the Plague? • The Y.pestis bacteria creates an enzyme referred to as “PLA” • The “PLA” protein was the main research topic for this year’s SMART Team.

  10. PLA is designed to latch onto plasminogen and cut a very specific strand, forcing it to generate plasmin. • This extra plasmin destroys the fibrin clot around the area of infection, allowing the Y.pestis bacteria to spread unhindered.

  11. Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_black_death http://cbm.msoe.edu/includes/pdf/smart2012/Pla_Primary_Citation_2x55.pdf http://cbm.msoe.edu/includes/pdf/smart2012/Plague_Past_Present_Future.pdf http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasminogen

More Related