New research by the Hegde group and collaborators has used a combination of biochemical and structural approaches to reveal the key factors and steps cells use to embed multipass proteins, such as GPCRs and transporters, into the membrane.
Insight on Research
Engineered polymerase enzyme presents new opportunity for quick and efficient modified nucleic acid synthesis
Modified polymerase enzyme produces xeno-nucleic acids efficiently and accurately, opening up possibilities in academic science, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
Identification of pathway that enables resistance to tuberculosis
Lalita Ramakrishnan’s group, LMB Cell Biology Division and University of Cambridge Molecular Immunity Unit, has determined that increased metabolism, prompted through mTOR kinase, is a crucial resistance factor against macrophage necrosis during TB infection.
Identical structures of α-synuclein filaments from Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies
The groups of Michel Goedert and Sjors Scheres, from the LMB’s Neurobiology and Structural Studies Divisions, have used cryo-EM to identify identical structures of α-synuclein filaments from Parkinson’s disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.
Cryo-EM reveals first high-resolution structure of the dynein-dynactin complex bound to microtubules
New structure from Andrew Carter’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division reveals dynein’s interaction with microtubules and how cargo adaptors use conserved sequence motifs to scaffold the motor protein complex
Mammalian clock gene Cryptochrome 1 is crucial to suprachiasmatic nucleus timekeeping
Using translational switching, Michael Hastings’ group has shown that the mammalian clock gene Cryptochrome 1 is a state variable and core phase setting component of the brain’s master clock.