title: The present and future of solution NMR in investigating the structure and dynamics of channels and transporters.
abstract: Membrane channels, transporters and receptors constitute essential means for cells to maintain homeostasis and communicate with the surroundings. Investigation of their molecular architecture and the dynamic process of transporting substrate or transmitting signals across the membrane barrier has been one of the frontiers in biomedical research. The past decade has seen numerous successes in the use of X-ray or electron crystallography in determining atomic-resolution structures of membrane proteins, and in some cases, even snapshots of different physiological states of the same protein have been obtained. But there are also many cases in which long-standing efforts to crystallize proteins have yet to succeed. Therefore we have practical needs for developing complementary biophysical tools such as NMR spectroscopy and electron microscopy for tackling these systems. This paper provides a number of key examples where the utility of solution NMR was pivotal in providing structural and functional information on ion channels and transporters.
authors.affiliation: Jack and Eileen Connors Structural Biology Laboratory, Department of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
authors.forename: Kirill
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oxenoid
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Chou
mesh_terms: D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray; D007473:Ion Channels / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D016623:Ion Pumps / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D017136:Ion Transport; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D019906:Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular / Q000379:methods*; D015398:Signal Transduction; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins / Q000378:metabolism / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D000086082:Viroporin Proteins
chemical_list: D007473:Ion Channels; D016623:Ion Pumps; D024101:Mitochondrial Proteins; D000071256:Uncoupling Protein 1; D014763:Viral Matrix Proteins; C488937:M2 protein, Influenza A virus; D000086082:Viroporin Proteins