Journal
CURRENT OPINION IN STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY
Volume 19, Issue 4, Pages 402-407Publisher
CURRENT BIOLOGY LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.sbi.2009.06.005
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Funding
- Intramural NIH HHS [Z01 BC010825-01] Funding Source: Medline
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The vast majority of membrane protein complexes of biological interest cannot be purified to homogeneity, or removed from a physiologically relevant context without loss of function. It is therefore not possible to easily determine the 3D structures of these protein complexes using X-ray crystallography or conventional cryo-electron microscopy. Newly emerging methods that combine cryo-electron tomography with 3D image classification and averaging are, however, beginning to provide unique opportunities for in situ determination of the structures of membrane protein assemblies in intact cells and nonsymmetric viruses. Here we review recent progress in this field and assess the potential of these methods to describe the conformation of membrane proteins in their native environment.
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