Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Over the past two decades, mass spectrometry (MS) of protein complexes from their native state has made inroads into structural biology. To coincide with the 20(th) anniversary of Structure, and given that it is now approximately 20 years since the first mass spectra of noncovalent protein complexes were reported, it is timely to consider progress of MS as a structural biology tool. Early reports focused on soluble complexes, contributing to ligand binding studies, subunit interaction maps, and topological models. Recent discoveries have enabled delivery of membrane complexes, encapsulated in detergent micelles, prompting new opportunities. By maintaining interactions between membrane and cytoplasmic subunits in the gas phase, it is now possible to investigate the effects of lipids, nucleotides, and drugs on intact membrane assemblies. These investigations reveal allosteric and synergistic effects of small molecule binding and expose the consequences of posttranslational modifications. In this review, we consider recent progress in the study of protein complexes, focusing particularly on complexes extracted from membranes, and outline future prospects for gas phase structural biology.

Original publication

DOI

10.1016/j.str.2013.08.002

Type

Journal article

Journal

Structure

Publication Date

03/09/2013

Volume

21

Pages

1541 - 1550

Keywords

Animals, Detergents, Gases, Humans, Lipids, Membrane Proteins, Micelles, Molecular Biology, Multiprotein Complexes, Protein Binding, Solubility, Spectrometry, Mass, Electrospray Ionization, Spectrometry, Mass, Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption-Ionization