Understanding the function of the protien could shed light on disease states involving inappropriate cell movement, such as cancer metastasis.
The scientists at Boston Biomedical combined several techniques including X-ray crystallography, resonance energy transfer and molecular modeling to obtain a three-dimensional, atomic resolution structure of the neck region of myosin V.
This form of myosin is responsible for organelle transport inside the cells. The neck region was initially thought to be a mere link within the molecule. However, the scientists have demonstrated that the myosin’s neck region has an unexpectedly complex structure, demonstrating that in addition to the previously recognized function as a rigid link, it is also involved in regulation of function of this important protein and possibly mediates its interactions with other proteins.