HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

J. Biol. Chem., Vol. 281, Issue 28, 99921, July 14, 2006

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Related Collections Papers Of The Week Social Bookmarking                      What's this?

A Look at a Cholesterol Transporter

Low density lipoproteins (LDL) transport cholesterol and triglycerides to various cells and tissues throughout the body. The receptor-mediated uptake of LDL is triggered by apolipoprotein B-100, which is the only protein component of LDL. Human apolipoprotein B-100 is a glycoprotein with a molecular mass of about 550 kDa. It associates with hydrophobic molecules in a noncovalent fashion to facilitate their transport and targeting in a hydrophilic environment. Because of the protein's size and hydrophobic nature, its structure is not well characterized.

An ab initio model of apoB-100.

In this Paper of the Week, Alexander Johs and colleagues present a low resolution structure of solubilized apolipoprotein B-100. Using small angle neutron scattering in combination with advanced shape reconstruction algorithms, the researchers generated a three-dimensional model of lipid-free apolipoprotein B-100. From the model, it was clear that apolipoprotein B-100 is composed of several distinct domains connected by flexible regions. The molecule assumes a curved shape with a central cavity. The researchers used the low resolution model in combination with a secondary structure prediction to construct a hypothetical domain organization of apolipoprotein B-100 on LDL. This paper is a major contribution to the field since attempts to obtain the structure of this critical cholesterol-carrying lipoprotein stretch back 3 decades.

FOOTNOTES

See referenced article, J. Biol. Chem. 2006, 281, 19732-19739

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Request Permissions Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Search for Related Content Related Collections Papers Of The Week Social Bookmarking                      What's this?