Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 24, 2026

Detecting the Ligand-binding Domain Dimerization Activity of Estrogen Receptor Alpha Using the Mammalian Two-Hybrid Assay
Published on: December 19, 2018
Progesterone receptor ligand binding pocket flexibility: crystal structures of the norethindrone and mometasone
Kevin P Madauss1, Su-Jun Deng, Robert J H Austin
1GlaxoSmithKline Inc., 5 Moore Drive, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina 27709, USA.
Abstract:
Although progesterone, the natural ligand of the progesterone receptor (PR), has a hydrogen atom at the 17alpha position, other potent steroid agonists such as norethindrone and mometasone furoate have larger substituents at this position that are accommodated by the PR ligand binding pocket. Crystallographic analysis of PR ligand binding domain complexes clearly demonstrated that these moieties were accommodated by local shifts of the protein main chain and by adoption of alternative side chain rotamer conformations of ligand-proximal amino acids. These conformational changes imparted a ligand-specific volume to the binding pocket, from 490 A3 in the metribolone complex to 520 A3 in the norethindrone complex, 565 A3 in the progesterone complex, and 730 A3 in the mometasone furoate complex. Despite these marked alterations in binding pocket volume, critical interactions essential for establishment of an active AF2 conformation were maintained.
Related Concept Videos
Transducer Mechanism: Nuclear Receptors
About 48 different soluble family members of nuclear receptors are identified that can be divided into two main classes:
The Two-State Receptor Model
The binding affinity of a drug determines its interaction with one...
Drug-Receptor Bonds
In...
Ligand Binding and Linkage
The Equilibrium Binding Constant and Binding Strength
G Protein-coupled Receptors
GPCRs are also called heptahelical, 7TM, or serpentine receptors, and consist of seven (H1-H7) transmembrane alpha-helices that span the bilayer to form a cylindrical core. The transmembrane helices are connected by three extracellular loops and three...