NOLLERT Peter (GERMANY) (Fellow)
STROUD Robert (Host)
Department of Biophysics and Biochemistry, University of California, San Francisco, USA
Crystallization of the ß2-adrenergic receptor using the cubic phase approach

The subject of this research proposal is the crystallization and the subsequent elucidation of the high-resolution structure of the ß2-adrenergic receptor. This receptor is a membrane protein that plays an important role in the regulation of cardiovascular and pulmonary physiology. The ß2-adrenergic receptor belongs to the superfamily of G-protein coupled receptors. In spite of their importance in cellular signal transduction, no high-resolution structures of G-protein coupled receptors have been obtained. Recently a novel method for the crystallization of membrane proteins, utilizing lipidic cubic phases as crystallization matrices (cubic phase approach) has been developed. In order to make use of this new crystallization method, I will produce appropriate amounts of the protein, perform incorporation studies and set up crystallization trials. Upon successful production of crystals by screening crystallization conditions, I will use data from X-ray diffraction experiments to determine the structure of the receptor.