Rath Arianna, Deber Charles M
Division of Molecular Structure & Function, Research Institute, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Methods Mol Biol. 2013;1063:197-210. doi: 10.1007/978-1-62703-583-5_11.
Membrane proteins have central roles in cellular processes ranging from nutrient uptake to cell-cell communication, and are key drug targets. However, research on α-helical integral membrane proteins is in its relative infancy vs. water-soluble proteins, largely because of their water insolubility when extracted from their native membrane environment. Peptides with sequences that correspond to the membrane-spanning segments of α-helical integral membrane proteins, termed transmembrane (TM) peptides, provide valuable tools for the characterization of these molecules. Here we describe in detail protocols for the design of TM peptides from the sequences of natural α-helical integral membrane proteins and outline strategies for their synthesis and for improving their solubility properties.
膜蛋白在从营养物质摄取到细胞间通讯等一系列细胞过程中发挥着核心作用，并且是关键的药物靶点。然而，与水溶性蛋白相比，α-螺旋整合膜蛋白的研究仍处于相对起步阶段，这主要是因为当它们从天然膜环境中提取出来时具有水不溶性。具有与α-螺旋整合膜蛋白跨膜片段相对应序列的肽，即跨膜（TM）肽，为这些分子的表征提供了有价值的工具。在此，我们详细描述了从天然α-螺旋整合膜蛋白序列设计TM肽的方案，并概述了其合成策略以及改善其溶解性的策略。
