Public Guest Talk: Steven Lavington, Oxford University
The RTG welcomes Steven Lavington as a guest speaker on Tuesday, 17th of July 2018.
Titel: “Elucidating the conformational dynamics of the 8th helix in a class A GPCR“
G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are of considerable biological significance, since they account for ~1% of genome-encoded proteins and are implicated in a variety of biological processes and pathologies. GPCRs are characterized by a 7-transmembrane helix architecture, with most structures also demonstrating an eight non-transmembrane helix, helix 8. This structural element has been implicated in GPCR expression, trafficking and G protein coupling. It is therefore of note that crystal structures of thermostabilised neurotensin receptor 1 (NTS1) constructs are inconsistent on the presence and extent of helix 8, with at least 4 different conformations observed to date. Here, we make use of a non-thermostabilised NTS1 construct reconstituted in a lipid environment to explore the conformational dynamics of the helix 8 region. Continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW-EPR) is used alongside molecular dynamics simulations and circular dichroism spectroscopy to demonstrate that NTS1 possesses a dynamic helix 8 with a conformation that is dependent on both membrane lipids and the binding of intracellular signalling partners.
Official announcement: RTG1962_Steven Lavington
Research profil of Steven Lavington, Oxford University [link]
Venue: Department Biology, Building B1, Floor 00, Seminar Room Cell Biology (00.581), Staudtstraße 5, 91058 Erlangen.
Time: 5.00 p.m. (s.t.) –> Drinks will be served, starting at 4.30 p.m.