Elucidating the Activation Mechanism of the Insulin-Family Proteins with Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

ABSTRACT: The insulin-family proteins bind to their own receptors, but insulin-like growth factor II (IGF-II) can also bind to the A isoform of the insulin receptor (IR-A), activating unique and alternative signaling pathways from those of insulin. Although extensive studies of insulin have revealed that its activation is associated with the opening of the B chain-C terminal (BC-CT), the activation mechanism of the insulin-like growth factors (IGFs) still remains unknown. Here, we present the first comprehensive study of the insulin-family proteins comparing their activation process and mechanism using molecular dynamics simulations to reveal new insights into their specificity to the insulin receptor. We have found that all the proteins appear to exhibit similar stochastic dynamics in their conform

SUBMITTER: Papaioannou A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4993506 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature