Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain
the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in
Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles
and JavaScript.
NMR structures of calmodulin, troponin C and related proteins are providing the atomic details of the conformational changes that transduce Ca2+ signals into mechanical or metabolic responses.
The structure of the apo form of calcyclin, a member of the S100 family of calcium-binding proteins, reveals a novel dimer fold that may reflect the presence of a new interface for target protein recognition.
Pleckstrin homology (PH) domains bind to membrane surfaces, and inositol phospholipids appear to form part of the binding sites. Recent structural studies provide a model for PH domain anchoring to inositol phospholipids that will open new avenues for functional investigation.
Dimeric proteins can arise from monomers by the simple exchange of secondary structural elements or a wholesale swapping of domains. These results have implications for the construction of novel oligomeric molecules and illuminate how existing structures may have evolved.
The structure of γδ resolvase complexed with a DNA cleavage site provides new insights into how resolvase accomplishes site-specific DNA recombination.
Structural analysis reveals mechanisms of drug resistance to HIV-1 protease inhibitors. These results have implications for the design of drugs and therapeutic strategies to combat drug resistance in AIDS.
Proteins that interact with RNA are now yielding to high-resolution structural analysis and these studies are going hand-in-hand with dissection of the RNA processing machinery of the spliceosome.
Examination of recent protein structures in the light of present views on the mechanism of protein folding provides clues as to events that may occur during the folding process.
A new structure of a plant lectin-saccharide complex shows how this protein presents a high density of sugar-binding sites. Comparison with other lectin structures reveals some emerging patterns in the arrangements of multiple ligand-binding sites in various lectin families.
Iterative protein structure-based ligand design has led to a ‘selective’ inhibitor of human non-pancreatic secretory phospholipase A2 which provides a new tool for probing metabolic pathways and may lead to a useful drug.
The structure determination of an anti-tumour antibody in complex with its Lewis Y carbohydrate antigen is a timely reminder of the historical and immunological importance of antibodies against polysaccharides, as well as their potential medical uses as diagnostics, therapeutics and vaccines.
A defined, spontaneous protein folding defect can act as a common link between lung and liver diseases associated with the Z type of plasma α1-antitrypsin deficiency.
The determination of the crystal structure of the ribonuclease inhibitor-ribonuclease A complex provides exciting new insight on how the leucine-rich repeat allows a single molecule to get around the problem of inhibiting an entire family of enzymes.
Structural studies of phospholipase A2, in the presence of micelles, and investigations into molecular properties of lipids indicate that the mechanism of interracial activation of lipolytic enzymes may be far more complex than presently supposed at present.
Inhibitor binding to HIV protease affects and can be affected by protein motions. Knowledge of these motions will be of considerable importance for effective structure-based design of drugs.
Crystal structures of the p50 subunit of transcription factor NF-κB bound to DNA reveal the remarkable way the protein uses loops to recognize DNA and how it presents a surface for interaction with other factors.
