PERIPHERAL BENZODIAZEPINE RECEPTOR STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY

描述（由申请人提供）：人外周苯二氮卓受体（hPBR）是一种高度疏水、富含色氨酸（7.7%）的18 kDa蛋白质，由169个氨基酸和5个预测的跨膜α-螺旋组成。hPBR主要位于线粒体外膜内，在那里它是线粒体渗透性转换孔复合物的一种组分。虽然hPBR在细胞内的主要细胞功能目前尚不清楚，但它涉及多种细胞功能，如细胞增殖和凋亡，使hPBR成为癌症治疗的靶点。coli表达系统中，优化了表达条件，实现了可重复的高水平表达。已经开发了一种稳健的双柱纯化方法，其能够容易地产生多毫克量的高纯hPBR。根据计划公告PA-03 - 100“NIGMS高影响/高风险研究探索性研究”提交的R21申请的目的是：1）生产多毫克量的纯化hPBR，2）用hPBR和hPBR复合物进行系统的三维结晶实验。该提议的目标是获得足以通过X射线晶体学测定hPBR结构的晶体。这项工作的长期目标是进行详细的结构-功能研究的hPBR，严格评估的效用的hPBR结构设计的新型癌症药物，并扩展我们的研究线粒体渗透性转换孔复合物的结构生物学。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): The human Peripheral Benzodiazepine Receptor (hPBR) is a highly hydrophobic, tryptophan-rich (7.7%) 18kDa protein consisting of 169 amino acids and five predicted transmembrane a-helices. hPBR is primarily localized within the mitochondrial outer membrane, where it is one component of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore complex. Although the primary cellular function of hPBR within the cell is not currently known, it has been implicated in a variety of cellular functions such as cellular proliferation and apoptosis, making hPBR a target for cancer therapy, hPBR has been cloned into an E. coli expression system, expression has been optimized, and reproducible high-level expression has been achieved. A robust two column purification method has been developed that enables the facile generation of multimilligram quantities of highly pure hPBR. The aims of this R21 application, submitted under Program Announcement PA-03-100, NIGMS Exploratory Studies for High Impact/High Risk Research, are to: 1) produce multi-milligram quantities of purified hPBR, and 2) conduct systematic three-dimensional crystallization experiments with hPBR and hPBR complexes. The goal of this proposal is to obtain crystals sufficient for structure determination of hPBR by x-ray crystallography. The longer-term goals of this effort are to conduct detailed structure-function studies of hPBR, to critically evaluate the utility of the hPBR structure for design of novel cancer drugs, and to extend our research to the structural biology of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore complex.