#arrestin

[justbadjokes]

Ligand: bound

Arrestin: recruited

Clathrin-dependent endocytosis: started

[pharmtastic]

Further data on GPCR-arrestin interaction

Another interesting (and well written) study that 'needs' to be shared is the nature paper ("Visualization of arrestin recruitment by a G-protein-coupled receptor") on the interactions between g-protein coupled receptors and arrestin from Lefkowitz and collaborators. This time they turned to hydrogen deuterium exchange and electron microscopy combined with some complex 3D reconstructions to understand the protein dynamics of receptor-arrestin interactions.

A couple of things (with valid reasons) that I found really interesting was the use of Vasopressin receptor with some structural modifications including a N-terminal T4Lysozyme as the token GPCR for this study. The other being the use of a nanobody to stabilize the ligand-receptor-arrestin complex. This study not only confirmed some of the previous EPR studies but also reveals other changes in the N- and C-terminus of beta-arrestin. They move on to suggest a biphasic mechanism of arrestin recruitment, which sounds very plausible considering it is very similar to the g-protein mechanism. 

On a secondary note, the number of failed techniques/constructs to study this collossus protein complex, pile on as you continue reading down the paper, which makes this study all the more impressive. Looking forward to more (crystal structure of the complex?) from these guys in the near future.