Enrico Di Cera, M.D. Roy and Diana Vagelos Professor Biochemistry and Molecular Biophysics Professor Internal Medicine Computational and Molecular Biophysics Program Biochemistry Program Computational and Systems Biology Program
Office Phone: 314-362-4185 Lab Phone: 314-362-4123 Other Phone: FAX: 314-362-4311 Box: 8231 Lab Address: 2915 South Building Email: enrico@wustl.edu Website: http://www.biochem.wustl.edu/~enrico Keywords: blood coagulation; kinetics; protein engineering; protein structure; structure-function relations
Research Abstract: The laboratory is interested in the molecular basis of protease specificity and allosteric regulation. Our studies involve a combination of kinetics, thermodynamics, site-directed mutagenesis and X-ray structural methods. Current efforts are focused on the redesign of protease specificity toward substrates and monovalent cations and the structure of protein complexes of physiological relevance. Selected Publications: Di Cera E. Engineering protease specificity made simple, but not simpler. Nat Chem Biol 2008 4:270-271. Page MJ, Di Cera E. Serine peptidases: classification, structure and function. Cell Mol Life Sci 2008 65:1220-1236. Di Cera E. Thrombin. Mol Aspects Med 2008 29:203-254. Gandhi PS, Chen Z, Mathews FS, et al. Structural identification of the pathway of long-range communication in an allosteric enzyme. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2008 105:1832-1837. Bah A, Chen Z, Bush-Pelc LA, et al. Crystal structures of murine thrombin in complex with the extracellular fragments of protease-activated receptors PAR3 and PAR4. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 2007 104:11603-11608. Last Updated: 07/31/2008