Biogenesis of Lipid Amide Signals: Structural Insights into a Key Molecular Machine
Il 16/10/2013 ore 11.00 - 12.30
Sala A - 1° Piano
Istituto dei Materiali per l'Elettronica ed il Magnetismo, CNR
Parco Area delle Scienze, 37/A
43124 Parma
Seminario del Dr. Gianpiero Garau
PhD, Project Leader
Structural Biophysics, Drug Discovery and Development Unit
Italian Institute of Technology
Genoa, Italy
Abstract
Lipids not only are the natural building blocks of cell membranes, but they are directly involved as signalling molecules into a remarkable range of essential cellular processes. Among lipidic messengers, the fatty acid ethanolamides (FAEs) - engaging in mammals selective GPCRs and nuclear receptors - play pivotal roles in inflammation, pain, and cell survival. Despite the biological relevance of lipid amide signals, the biogenesis of the FAEs remains poorly understood. The crystal structure of the human membrane enzyme NAPE-PLD at 2.7 Å resolution reveals a unique protein molecular architecture and shows how the endogenous FAEs are generated. A comparison of this structure with that of the ancestral protein tRNA maturase RNaseZ suggests how the unusual metallo-beta-lactamase fold of NAPE-PLD might have adapted to recognize and cleave membrane phospholipids, rather than ribonucleic acids.
Organizzato da:
IMEM-CNR
Referente organizzativo:
Claudio Ferrari
IMEM-CNR
Parco Area delle Scienze, 37/A
43124 Parma
ferrari@imem.cnr.it
0521/269222
Modalità di accesso: ingresso libero
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