Three-dimensional structures of ~160 different integral membrane proteins have been determined at
atomic resolution by
X-ray crystallography or
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. They are challenging subjects for study owing to the difficulties associated with extraction and
crystallization. In addition, structures of many
water-
soluble protein domains of IMPs are available in the
Protein Data Bank. Their membrane-anchoring
α-helices have been removed to facilitate the extraction and
crystallization. Search integral membrane proteins in the PDB (based on
gene ontology classification) IMPs can be divided into two groups: •
Integral polytopic proteins (Transmembrane proteins) •
Integral monotopic proteins
Integral polytopic protein The most common type of IMP is the
transmembrane protein, which spans the entire
biological membrane.
Single-pass membrane proteins cross the membrane only once, while
multi-pass membrane proteins weave in and out, crossing the membrane several times. Single pass membrane proteins can be categorized as Type I, which are positioned such that their carboxyl-terminus is towards the
cytosol, or Type II, which have their amino-terminus towards the cytosol. Type III proteins have multiple transmembrane domains in a single polypeptide, while type IV consists of several different polypeptides assembled together in a channel through the membrane. Type V proteins are anchored to the lipid bilayer through covalently linked lipids. Finally Type VI proteins have both transmembrane domains and lipid anchors.
Integral monotopic proteins : 1. interaction by an amphipathic
α-helix parallel to the membrane plane (in-plane membrane helix) 2. interaction by a hydrophobic loop 3. interaction by a covalently bound membrane lipid (
lipidation) 4. electrostatic or
ionic interactions with membrane lipids (
e.g. through a calcium ion)
Integral monotopic proteins are permanently attached to the
cell membrane from one side. Three-dimensional structures of the following integral monotopic proteins have been determined: • prostaglandin H2 syntheses 1 and 2 (
cyclooxygenases) •
lanosterol synthase and squalene-hopene cyclase • microsomal
prostaglandin E synthase •
carnitine O-palmitoyltransferase 2 •
Phosphoglycosyl transferase C There are also structures of integral monotopic
domains of transmembrane proteins: •
monoamine oxidases A and B •
fatty acid amide hydrolase • mammalian
cytochrome P450 oxidases •
corticosteroid 11-beta-dehydrogenases Extraction Many challenges facing the study of integral membrane proteins are attributed to the extraction of those proteins from the
phospholipid bilayer. Since integral proteins span the width of the phospholipid bilayer, their extraction involves disrupting the
phospholipids surrounding them, without causing any damage that would interrupt the function or structure of the proteins. Several successful methods are available for performing the extraction including the uses of "detergents, low ionic salt (salting out), shearing force, and rapid pressure change".
Determination of protein structure The
Protein Structure Initiative (PSI), funded by the U.S.
National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), part of the
National Institutes of Health (NIH), has among its aim to determine three-dimensional protein structures and to develop techniques for use in
structural biology, including for membrane proteins.
Homology modeling can be used to construct an atomic-resolution model of the "target" integral protein from its amino acid sequence and an experimental three-dimensional structure of a related homologous protein. This procedure has been extensively used for
ligand-
G protein–coupled receptors (GPCR) and their complexes. ==Function==