The visual receptor Rhodopsin, found in rod cells of the retina, is a well-studied G-protein coupled receptor (GPCR) that exhibits dimerization behavior. Dimerization of GPCRs have significant functional consequences, affecting ligand binding affinity, receptor trafficking as well as signaling specificity of downstream signaling pathways. This animation shows a full-atomic molecular dynamics simulation of the rhodopsin homodimer observed in an explicit membrane environment.
PS: These simulations could only be imagined earlier. (Protein-protein interactions govern a large number of biological processes. A number of cell surface and nuclear receptors mediate their actions via dimerization.)
PS: These simulations could only be imagined earlier. (Protein-protein interactions govern a large number of biological processes. A number of cell surface and nuclear receptors mediate their actions via dimerization.)
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