Tricks of the trade used to accelerate high-resolution structure determination of membrane proteins

FEBS Lett. 2010 Jun 18;584(12):2539-47. doi: 10.1016/j.febslet.2010.04.015. Epub 2010 Apr 13.

Abstract

The rate at which X-ray structures of membrane proteins are solved is on a par with that of soluble proteins in the late 1970s. There are still many obstacles facing the membrane protein structural community. Recently, there have been several technical achievements in the field that have started to dramatically accelerate structural studies. Here, we summarize these so-called 'tricks-of-the-trade' and include case studies of several mammalian transporters.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Animals
  • Crystallization
  • Detergents
  • Glucose Transporter Type 1 / chemistry
  • Glucose Transporter Type 1 / genetics
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / chemistry
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins / genetics
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Protein Stability
  • Rats
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / chemistry
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins / genetics
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / chemistry
  • Saccharomyces cerevisiae / genetics
  • Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2 / chemistry
  • Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2 / genetics

Substances

  • Detergents
  • Glucose Transporter Type 1
  • Membrane Proteins
  • Recombinant Fusion Proteins
  • SLC2A1 protein, human
  • Slc17a6 protein, rat
  • Vesicular Glutamate Transport Protein 2
  • Green Fluorescent Proteins