Protein subunit interfaces: heterodimers versus homodimers

Identification of critical heterodimer protein interface parameters by multi-dimensional scaling in euclidian space.

Protein subunit dimers are either homodimers (consisting of identical polypeptides) or heterodimers (consisting of different polypeptides). Protein dimers are involved in several cellular processes and an understanding of their molecular principle in complexations (subunit-subunit interaction) is essential. This is generally studied using 3D structures of homodimers and heterodimers determined ...

Dimerization Interfaces of V-erba Homodimers and Heterodimers with Rxrα

In Situ Evaluation of Estrogen Receptor Dimers in Breast Carcinoma Cells: Visualization of Protein-Protein Interactions

The estrogen receptor (ER) functions as a dimer and is involved in several different biological functions. However ER dimeric proteins have not been identified by in situ methodologies. Structured illumination microscopy (SIM) has been recently developed, which enabled the localization of protein and protein interaction. Therefore, in this study, we firstly demonstrated that ERs formed both hom...

MsGC-beta3 forms active homodimers and inactive heterodimers with NO-sensitive soluble guanylyl cyclase subunits.

Soluble guanylyl cyclases are typically obligate heterodimers, composed of a single alpha and a single beta subunit. MsGC-beta3, identified in the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta, was the first example of a soluble guanylyl cyclase that exhibited enzyme activity without the need for coexpression with additional subunits. Subsequent studies have revealed that the mammalian beta2 subunit also shar...

Preferential formation of MT1/MT2 melatonin receptor heterodimers with distinct ligand interaction properties compared with MT2 homodimers.

Heterodimerization has been documented for several members of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) superfamily, including the closely related MT(1) and MT(2) melatonin receptors. However, the relative abundance of hetero-versus homodimers and the specific properties, which can be attributed to each form, are difficult to determine. Using a bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET) donor...