An ab Initio structural model of a nucleoside permease predicts functionally important residues.

ABSTRACT: Permeases belonging to the equilibrative nucleoside transporter family promote uptake of nucleosides and/or nucleobases into a wide range of eukaryotes and mediate the uptake of a variety of drugs used in the treatment of cancer, heart disease, AIDS, and parasitic infections. No experimental three-dimensional structure exists for any of these permeases, and they are not present in prokaryotes, the source of many membrane proteins used in crystal structure determination. To generate a structural model for such a transporter, the LdNT1.1 nucleoside permease from the parasitic protozoan Leishmania donovani was modeled using ab initio computation. Site-directed mutations that strongly impair transport or that alter substrate specificity map to the central pore of the ab initio model, whereas m

SUBMITTER: Valdes R 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2707223 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature