Urea transporter

spinqualitylabelsall models PDB ID 3k3f Show:Asymmetric Unit Biological Assembly Drag the structure with the mouse to rotate   Export Animated Image
urea transporter (3k3f), resolution 2.30Å ()
Resources:	FirstGlance, OCA, PDBsum, RCSB
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Crystal Structure of the Urea Transporter from Desulfovibrio VulgarisCrystal Structure of the Urea Transporter from Desulfovibrio Vulgaris

Publication Abstract from PubMed

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Urea is highly concentrated in the mammalian kidney to produce the osmotic gradient necessary for water re-absorption. Free diffusion of urea across cell membranes is slow owing to its high polarity, and specialized urea transporters have evolved to achieve rapid and selective urea permeation. Here we present the 2.3 A structure of a functional urea transporter from the bacterium Desulfovibrio vulgaris. The transporter is a homotrimer, and each subunit contains a continuous membrane-spanning pore formed by the two homologous halves of the protein. The pore contains a constricted selectivity filter that can accommodate several dehydrated urea molecules in single file. Backbone and side-chain oxygen atoms provide continuous coordination of urea as it progresses through the filter, and well-placed alpha-helix dipoles provide further compensation for dehydration energy. These results establish that the urea transporter operates by a channel-like mechanism and reveal the physical and chemical basis of urea selectivity.

Crystal structure of a bacterial homologue of the kidney urea transporter., Levin EJ, Quick M, Zhou M, Nature. 2009 Dec 10;462(7274):757-61. Epub . PMID:19865084

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

About this StructureAbout this Structure

3K3F is a 1 chain structure with sequence from Desulfovibrio vulgaris str. hildenborough. Full crystallographic information is available from OCA.

ReferenceReference

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