Researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA have solved the structure of a class of proteins known as sodium glucose co-transporters (SGLTs), which pump glucose into cells.
These transport proteins are used in the treatment of chronic diarrhea via oral rehydration therapy, saving the lives of millions of children each year. The solution of the SGLT structure will accelerate development of new drugs designed to treat patients with diabetes and cancer.
Led by Jeff Abramson and Ernest Wright of the UCLA Department of Physiology, the research team produced an "atomic snap shot" of an SGLT protein. Using a specialized technique known as X-ray crystallography, they and their team of post-docs and students generated the first high-resolution, three-dimensional picture of a glucose transport protein. The research is published in today's online edition of the journal Science.
"This was a very challenging study that required innovation at each step of the process," said Abramson. "We literally had to invent new approaches to entice the protein into a crystal and then spent years optimizing these crystals to reach a quality suitable for visualization by X-rays. This would not have been possible without high-throughput protein production and purification capabilities."