Tracing water channels in cell surface receptors
Tuesday, September 9, 2014 - 05:40
in Biology & Nature
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are the largest class of cell surface receptors in our cells, involved in signal transmission across the cell membrane. One of the biggest questions is how a signal recognized at the extracellular side of a GPCR induces a sequence of conformational changes in the protein and finally evokes an intracellular response. EPFL scientists have now used computer modeling to reveal in molecular detail the structural transitions that happen inside GPCRs during the signal transduction process. They discovered that a central step in the trans-membrane signaling process is the formation of a continuous water pathway inside the G protein coupled receptors.