Spanish scientists reveal dynamic map of proteins
A team of Spanish scientists has published the first ever map on the dynamic behaviour of proteins. Published in the scientific journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, the map shows how proteins can move and form complexes with other molecules. The goal of the team of scientists from the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), the Life Sciences Program at the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and the National Institute for Bioinformatics (INB) is to define the dynamic properties of proteins to enable them to predict the structures they can form based on the presence of ligands or modifications. The study is the first in a larger scientific project aimed at creating an extensive library of 1,900 proteins in motion with the resources of the MareNostrum, the most powerful supercomputer in Europe. Dubbed MoDel, the database will allow users to observe how 3D structures of representative proteins move in their environments. 'MoDel aims to establish a 'fourth dimension' for protein structures thereby providing a complete landscape of possible conformations for the entire proteome (the complete network of protein interactions in a cell), over time,' said the director of the project, Modesto Orozco, from the IRB Barcelona. 'In the near future, a biochemist will be able to understand the behaviour of a protein, or design a drug that can interact with that protein, drawing on not only the knowledge of a single structure, but of an entire repertory spontaneously occurring in physiological conditions,' he added. The scientists believe understanding the structure and dynamics of proteins will open up possibilities for the design of new drugs.
Countries
Spain