Browse our latest Structural Biology and Molecular Biophysics articles

Many small-molecule fragments bind differently to the allosteric protein PTP1B in room-temperature instead of cryogenic crystal structures, which may be relevant for structure-based drug design.

Structures of respiratory complex I from the insect and metazoan model system Drosophila melanogaster reveal its close relationships with the mammalian complex and provide a foundation for new approaches to disentangle mechanisms of complex I catalysis and regulation.

Sweet and umami taste receptors are capable of sensing chloride ions, a component of table salt other than the salty taste-inducing component, sodium ions, and induce preferable taste sensations such as sweet taste.

A combined computational, genetic, and biochemical analysis of the hepatitis E virus open reading frame 1 (ORF1) protein identifies a novel domain-domain interaction that is vital for fitness and supports a proposed structural model of the ORF1 polyprotein.

Extremely significant interactions between α3-β7 and β12-α5 loops in the tetrameric L1 metallo-β-lactamase play an important role in the structural remodeling of the active site and offer insights into the potential for novel drug development by exploiting these interactions.

Photosystem II, the pigment-protein complex responsible for water oxidation in photosynthesis, was found to exist in two different core conformations with altered antennae connectivity.

Expression patterns and biophysical properties of acid-sensing ion channels in numerous bilaterian animals offer insight into the deployment of ion channels by the evolving nervous system in complex animals.

A theory is presented that explains why some ion channels tend to open in response to membrane stretching, which posits that channel closing is disfavored by the morphological energetics of the lipid bilayer, and increasingly so under lateral tension.

Combined patch-clamp fluorometry with ANAP, a fluorescent non-canonical amino acid, uncovers transitions in the activation pathway of human H_V1 that are modulated by voltage and the pH gradient.

The development of an integrative computational-experimental approach for identifying small molecules that can disrupt RNA:protein interactions in vitro and in cells led to the identification of several inhibitors of YBX1 in the micromolar range, including a previously approved drug.