Gramicidin/Lipid Co-Crystals

华莱士博士正在利用X射线结晶学以及革兰菌素和磷脂的共晶体来确定革兰菌素A跨膜离子通道的结构。目前可用于研究的晶体的衍射率优于2.0A。对这些晶体的光谱研究表明，脂分子在共晶中是高度有序的。质膜负责细胞与环境和邻近细胞的相互作用。膜蛋白在细胞的运输过程、细胞间的接触和信号接收中起着重要作用。关于嵌入在脂质双层中的蛋白质结构的高分辨率信息可能会阐明它们作为通道和受体的功能，并提供对蛋白质在脂双层疏水环境中折叠的洞察。

Dr. Wallace is determining the structure of the gramicidin A transmembrane ion channel using X-ray crystallography and co- crystals of gramicidin and phospholipids. The crystals currently available for study diffract to better than 2.0 A resolution. Spectroscopic studies on these crystals have shown that the lipid molecules are highly ordered within the co-crystals. The plasma membrane is responsible for the interactions of a cell with its environment and neighboring cells. Membrane proteins play a major role in transport processes, cell-cell contact and signal reception. High resolution information concerning the structure of proteins which are embedded in lipid bilayers may elucidate their functional roles as channels and receptors and provide insight into the folding of proteins in the hydrophobic environment of a lipid bilayer.***//