Membrane proteins by accident or design

Curr Opin Chem Biol. 2013 Dec;17(6):976-81. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpa.2013.10.005.

Abstract

Protein design is a valuable tool to create bespoke proteins with desired properties as well as for investigating sequence, structure and function relationships. Membrane protein design is a burgeoning field that is hampered by the lack of high-resolution structural information. In spite of these shortcomings, computational methods have offered a route towards blueprints for these hydrophobic proteins. Advances in structural scoring and sampling methods are enabling more accurate predictions of a folded structure from the primary amino acid sequence. This review highlights a number of novel studies focusing on the methods and information used to successfully design membrane proteins.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Amino Acid Sequence
  • Animals
  • Computer Simulation
  • Humans
  • Membrane Proteins / chemistry*
  • Membrane Proteins / genetics
  • Membrane Proteins / metabolism*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Sequence Data
  • Protein Conformation
  • Protein Engineering
  • Protein Folding

Substances

  • Membrane Proteins