Protein Dimerization on a Phosphonated Calix[6]arene Disc
- Journal:
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published:
- DOI:
- 10.1002/anie.201701500
- Affiliations:
- 2
- Authors:
- 4
Research Highlight
Connecting proteins with calixarene molecular glue
©aalexx/Getty
Calixarenes are large molecules with atoms arranged in a ring with a puckered structure. A team from Flinders University in Australia and colleagues has shown that the unusual shape of calixarenes can mimic protein binding sites and fix elusive biomolecules into well-defined crystal lattices.
The
researchers deduced that calixarene discs loaded with phosphorous-oxygen ions attach
to a single binding site on the protein cytochrome c. They then stack two
proteins back-to-back to form a ‘dimer’ complex. These small nanostructures drive
crystallization of an ordered complex that locks the proteins into place, and
keeps them at distances from each other — an ideal situation for x-ray-based structure
analysis of this and possibly other biomolecules.
References
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition 56, 5517–5521 (2017). doi: 10.1002/anie.201701500
Institutions | Authors | Share |
---|---|---|
University of Galway, Ireland | 0.75 | |
Flinders University, Australia | 0.25 |