lnbioA cluster of myosins in the shape of a letter E (in white) and its active regions (in green and orange)lnbio
After five years of work, a team from National Biosciences Laboratory (LNBio), in the city of Campinas, has defined the three-dimensional structure of what is called the functional, or active, region of three myosins found in vertebrates, discovered 20 years ago. In general, myosins are proteins responsible for muscle contraction. The three variants of myosin V studied by LNBio staff differ from the myosins responsible for muscle contraction mainly because of the functional region that binds to the targets—proteins, vesicles and organelles—to be transported inside cells. “Understanding how these proteins interact with other macromolecules is important for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in diseases such as albinism and neurological disorders associated with mutations in the genes of class V myosins,” commented Mário Murakami, coordinator of the LNBio team responsible for this study (Journal of Biological Chemistry, November 2013). Studies on the functions and regulation of these proteins were advancing slowly because little was known about the structure of the functional regions.
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