title: Cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography: complementary approaches to structural biology and drug discovery.
abstract: The invention of the electron microscope has greatly enhanced the view scientists have of small structural details. Since its implementation, this technology has undergone considerable evolution and the resolution that can be obtained for biological objects has been extended. In addition, the latest generation of cryo-electron microscopes equipped with direct electron detectors and software for the automated collection of images, in combination with the use of advanced image-analysis methods, has dramatically improved the performance of this technique in terms of resolution. While calculating a sub-10 Å resolution structure was an accomplishment less than a decade ago, it is now common to generate structures at sub-5 Å resolution and even better. It is becoming possible to relatively quickly obtain high-resolution structures of biological molecules, in particular large ones (>500 kDa) which, in some cases, have resisted more conventional methods such as X-ray crystallography or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). Such newly resolved structures may, for the first time, shed light on the precise mechanisms that are essential for cellular physiological processes. The ability to attain atomic resolution may support the development of new drugs that target these proteins, allowing medicinal chemists to understand the intimacy of the relationship between their molecules and targets. In addition, recent developments in cryo-electron microscopy combined with image analysis can provide unique information on the conformational variability of macromolecular complexes. Conformational flexibility of macromolecular complexes can be investigated using cryo-electron microscopy and multiconformation reconstruction methods. However, the biochemical quality of the sample remains the major bottleneck to routine cryo-electron microscopy-based determination of structures at very high resolution.
authors.affiliation: Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, UMR 7590 CNRS, UPMC, IRD, MNHN, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vénien-Bryan
authors.affiliation: Institut de Minéralogie, de Physique des Matériaux et de Cosmochimie, UMR 7590 CNRS, UPMC, IRD, MNHN, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France.
authors.forename: Zhuolun
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Chimie des Protéines, Pôle d'Expertise Biotechnologie, Chimie, Biologie, Institut de Recherches Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France.
authors.forename: Laurent
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Vuillard
authors.affiliation: Pôle d'Expertise Biotechnologie, Chimie, Biologie, Institut de Recherches Servier, 125 Chemin de Ronde, 78290 Croissy-sur-Seine, France.
authors.forename: Jean Albert
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Boutin
mesh_terms: D020285:Cryoelectron Microscopy / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D003460:Crystallization; D018360:Crystallography, X-Ray / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000379:methods*; D055808:Drug Discovery; D015507:Drugs, Investigational / Q000737:chemistry*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D046911:Macromolecular Substances / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D008958:Models, Molecular; D008968:Molecular Conformation; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure
chemical_list: D015507:Drugs, Investigational; D046911:Macromolecular Substances; D019837:Ryanodine Receptor Calcium Release Channel
keywords: conformational variability; cryo-EM; cryo-electron microscopy; drug discovery; high resolution; structural biology