Molecular organization and ATP-induced conformational changes of ABCA4, the photoreceptor-specific ABC transporter.

ABSTRACT: ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters use ATP to translocate various substrates across cellular membranes. Several members of subfamily A of mammalian ABC transporters are associated with severe health disorders, but their unusual complexity and large size have so far precluded structural characterization. ABCA4 is localized to the discs of vertebrate photoreceptor outer segments. This protein transports N-retinylidene-phosphatidylethanolamine to the outer side of disc membranes to prevent formation of toxic compounds causing macular degeneration. An 18 Å-resolution structure of ABCA4 isolated from bovine rod outer segments was determined using electron microscopy and single-particle reconstruction. Significant conformational changes in the cytoplasmic and transmembrane regions were obse

SUBMITTER: Tsybovsky Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3654078 | biostudies-literature | 2013 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature