Profacgen, a state-of-the-art protein service provider that provides custom protein services in the biological sciences, recently updated its membrane protein modeling service to better assist scientists in the field of structure-based protein engineering.
Membrane proteins account for one third of all genes in the human genome, and they play critical roles as receptors, enzymes, ion channels, and transporters in cells. Due to their functional importance, membrane proteins account for more than 50% of current drug targets. However, experimental structural data are scarce, mainly due to difficulties in their over-expression, reconstruction of membrane mimics, and subsequent structure determination. The lack of high-resolution structures hinders the drug design process and receptor engineering with new functions for biotechnology applications, leading to high hopes for computational modeling tools that help fill the gap.
Computational structural modeling represents an important alternative to obtain three-dimensional membrane protein models at the atomic level. With the increasing number of high-resolution membrane protein structures available, the template situation for homology modeling procedures is rapidly improving, thus ensuring the high accuracy of the resulting models. The workflow for predicting the structure of membrane proteins is essentially the same as that of their soluble counterparts, first of all, the sequence alignment of the target protein to the selected template. In the process of model building, the predicted transmembrane region is taken as the core, and its structure is first built and refined. This is followed by the prediction of the loop conformation, particularly for the extramembrane region, to generate the full model.
Supported by years of experience, Profacgen adapts conventional homology modeling methods with several membrane-protein-specific steps to achieve better modeling results by avoiding any bias towards soluble globular proteins in the algorithm. With the update of this service, Profacgen now provides modeling of various types of membrane proteins, including G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and transport proteins. The resulting structural models are all quality validated and can be used for computational drug design, molecular dynamics simulations, as well as to guide further experimental work, such as structure-based protein engineering.
“Our goal is to help you predict the structure of membrane proteins from their amino acid sequences with an accuracy comparable experimental approach, helping overcome the difficulties encountered in the structure determination of membrane proteins.” Ellen commented, the chief marketing staff at Profacgen.
If you want to know more about the newly updated membrane protein modeling service offered by Profacgen, please visit https://www.profacgen.com/Membrane-Protein-Modeling.htm.