title: Site-directed mutagenesis to study the role of specific amino acids in the ligand binding domain of PPARs.
abstract: The role of certain amino acids in the interactions of ligands with their cognate nuclear receptors is usually achieved by the resolution of the crystal structure of the receptor complexed with the ligand. As a complementary functional approach, site-directed mutagenesis, a technique broadly used in molecular biology, allows the assessment of the role of a specific amino acid in determining the interaction with a specific ligand. This method makes it possible to evaluate several mutations of a key amino acid for ligand binding and to determine the relationship between protein structure and ligand interaction. Here, we describe an application of this technique to evaluate different point mutations on the transcriptional activity of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) in the absence or presence of chemically different ligands.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio Giovanni Galli di Biochimica e Biologia Molecolare del Metabolismo-Spettrometria di Massa, Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Milano, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Mitro
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gilardi
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Giudici
authors.forename: Cristina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Godio
authors.forename: Elena
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Scotti
authors.forename: Maurizio
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crestani
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000378:metabolism*; D017931:DNA Primers / Q000235:genetics; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific / Q000378:metabolism; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000166:cytology / Q000235:genetics; D057809:HEK293 Cells; D006801:Humans; D008024:Ligands; D016297:Mutagenesis, Site-Directed / Q000379:methods*; D009154:Mutation; D047495:PPAR gamma / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*; D010957:Plasmids / Q000235:genetics; D017434:Protein Structure, Tertiary; D014170:Transformation, Genetic
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D017931:DNA Primers; D008024:Ligands; D047495:PPAR gamma; C020102:endodeoxyribonuclease DpnI; D015252:Deoxyribonucleases, Type II Site-Specific