Center for Bioinformatics at KU

As part of our public Seminar Series
http://bioinformatics.ku.edu/seminars

April 14, Tue 2009
1:00 pm, MRB 100 Conference Room

Dr. Stanley Opella

Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of California, San Diego

Towards an Integrated View of the Structure and Dynamics of Membrane Proteins

Comparative NMR studies of membrane proteins in micelles, bicelles, and bilayers reveal the presence of both global and local motions that strongly influence both the determinations and descriptions of their structures. The structure and dynamics of the helices, inter-helical loops, and terminal regions differ widely in individual proteins, but common features among proteins representative of viroporins, transporters, and GPCRs are emerging. One of the strongest conclusions coming from these studies is that the proteins and phospholipids must be considered as a system, and that solid state NMR of protein-containing phospholipid bilayers enables the properties of both components to be described under physiological conditions of hydration and temperature.