Structure/function study of the CFTR (ABCC7) chloride channel

ABC转运蛋白是一个蛋白质家族，在从细菌到人类的生物生理中起着许多重要作用。它们运输各种各样的分子，如糖、维生素，甚至是细胞内或细胞外的小蛋白质。48种人类ABC蛋白主要参与分泌物、药物解毒和免疫系统对病原体的识别。细菌ABC蛋白的结构研究有助于发现它们的3D结构，并提供有关它们如何工作的大量信息。不幸的是，对于复杂的ABC蛋白，比如在人类中发现的那些，目前的先进技术还不足以从细胞中提取出一种方法，使研究人员能够看到它们精确的3D结构。人类ABC蛋白的大部分特征和功能特性都是根据预测的与细菌ABC相似的模型推断出来的。因此，目前的人类ABC蛋白模型需要通过进一步的功能和生理相关性测试来验证。这就是我们在实验室里做的研究。

ABC transporters are a family of proteins which play numerous important roles in organisms' physiology, from bacteria to humans. They transport a wide variety of molecules such as sugars, vitamins and even small proteins from different compartments of the cell or outside of cells. The 48 human ABC proteins are mostly involved in secretions, drug detoxification, and identification of pathogens by the immune system. Structural studies of bacterial ABC proteins have been instrumental in discovering their 3D structure and providing numerous information on how they work. Unfortunately, for complex ABC proteins, such as the ones fund in humans, current advanced technologies are not developed enoughto permit extraction from cells in a way which would enable researchers to visualise their precise 3D structure. Most of the characteristics and functional properties of human ABC proteins are deduced from models based on predicted similarities with bacterial ABCs. Current models of human ABC proteins thus need to be validated by further testing for their functional and physiological relevance. This is the type of research that we do in our lab.