Correlated Motions of Conserved Polar Motifs Lay out a Plausible Mechanism of G Protein-Coupled Receptor Activation.

ABSTRACT: Recent advancements in the field of experimental structural biology have provided high-resolution structures of active and inactive state G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), a highly important pharmaceutical target family, but the process of transition between these states is poorly understood. According to the current theory, GPCRs exist in structurally distinct, dynamically interconverting functional states of which populations are shifted upon binding of ligands and intracellular signaling proteins. However, explanation of the activation mechanism, on an entirely structural basis, gets complicated when multiple activation pathways and active receptor states are considered. Our unbiased, atomistic molecular dynamics simulations of the μ opioid receptor (MOP) revealed that transmission o

SUBMITTER: Mitra A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8146931 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature