Biomedicinal Information Research Center, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan.
Antioxid Redox Signal. 2009 Jul;11(7):1741-66. doi: 10.1089/ars.2008.2348.
Flavin adenine dinucleotide (FAD) and flavin mononucleotide (FMN) are two flavin prosthetic groups utilized as the redox centers of various proteins. The conformations and chemical properties of these flavins can be affected by their redox states as well as by photoreactions. Thus, proteins containing flavin (flavoproteins) can function not only as redox enzymes, but also as signaling molecules by using the redox- and/or light-dependent changes of the flavin. Redox and light-dependent conformational changes of flavoproteins are critical to many biological signaling systems. In this review, we summarize the molecular mechanisms of the redox-dependent conformational changes of flavoproteins and discuss their relationship to signaling functions. The redox-dependent (or light-excited) changes of flavin and neighboring residues in proteins act as molecular "switches" that "turn on" various conformational changes in proteins, and can be classified into five types. On the basis of the present analysis, we recommend future directions in molecular structural research on flavoproteins and related proteins.
黄素腺嘌呤二核苷酸（FAD）和黄素单核苷酸（FMN）是两种黄素辅基，它们被用作各种蛋白质的氧化还原中心。这些黄素的构象和化学性质可以受到它们的氧化还原状态以及光反应的影响。因此，含有黄素的蛋白质（黄素蛋白）不仅可以作为氧化还原酶，还可以通过氧化还原和/或光依赖性的黄素变化来作为信号分子发挥作用。黄素蛋白的氧化还原和光依赖性构象变化对许多生物信号系统至关重要。在这篇综述中，我们总结了黄素蛋白氧化还原依赖性构象变化的分子机制，并讨论了它们与信号功能的关系。蛋白质中黄素和相邻残基的氧化还原依赖性（或光激发）变化充当分子“开关”，“开启”蛋白质中的各种构象变化，可分为五种类型。基于目前的分析，我们为黄素蛋白和相关蛋白的分子结构研究推荐了未来的方向。
