二聚体、寡聚体，无处不在。

Dimers, oligomers, everywhere.

机构信息

School of Molecular Bioscience, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.

出版信息

Adv Exp Med Biol. 2012;747:1-18. doi: 10.1007/978-1-4614-3229-6_1.

Abstract

The specific self-association of proteins to form homodimers and higher order oligomers is an extremely common event in biological systems. In this chapter we review the prevalence of protein oligomerization and discuss the likely origins of this phenomenon. We also outline many of the functional advantages conferred by the dimerization or oligomerization of a wide range of different proteins and in a variety of biological roles, that are likely to have placed a selective pressure on biological systems to evolve and maintain homodimerization/oligomerization interfaces.

摘要

蛋白质的特定自身缔合形成同源二聚体和更高阶的寡聚体，是生物系统中极其常见的事件。在本章中，我们回顾了蛋白质寡聚化的普遍性，并讨论了这种现象的可能起源。我们还概述了广泛不同的蛋白质在各种生物学作用中，通过二聚化或寡聚化赋予的许多功能优势，这些优势可能对生物系统施加了选择性压力，使其进化并维持同源二聚体/寡聚体界面。