The Centre of New Technologies invites to a webinar by
Prof. Jan Brezovsky,
Faculty of Biology, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań and the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology in Warsaw,
Title: Ligand-transport pathways in proteins: structure, dynamics, function & modulation
Date: 27th November 2020 (Friday)
Time: 12:00 pm (Central European Time)
Host: prof. Joanna Trylska
Virtual seminar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83089886457
Abstract: https://labbit.eu/
Enzymes are indispensable for the function of every living cell, catalyzing the efficient execution of a vast number of concurrent chemical reactions. These reactions take place in the enzymes’ active sites exposed on the protein surface or, very frequently, buried deep inside its core. Access of substrates and release of reaction products via molecular tunnels is essential for the function of the buried sites. Aside from enabling efficient catalysis, tunnels also constitute a structural basis of various regulatory mechanisms that are critical to the living cell like substrate inhibition and cooperativity. Despite their utmost importance, tunnels are rarely explicitly considered in protein research due to obtrusive challenges in their identification arising from their often fleeting nature. The ensuing knowledge gap precludes linking tunnel mutations to pathologies, targeting the ligand-transport process with tunnel inhibitors, and designing proficient enzymes with the buried active sites.
In this talk, we will review challenges connected with uncovering transient tunnels, their engineering, and functional impacts on enzyme function, and briefly outline future steps to be taken in order to narrow the knowledge gap to deliver necessary insights relevant to enzymology, precision medicine, drug discovery, and protein engineering.
