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Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Measuring G-protein-coupled Receptor Signaling via Radio-labeled GTP Binding
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Published on: June 9, 2017

The dynamics of signal triggering in a gp130-receptor complex

Rishi Matadeen1, Wai-Ching Hon, John K Heath

  • 1Division of Structural Biology, The Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Roosevelt Drive, Headington, Oxford OX3 7BN, United Kingdom. rishi@strubi.ox.ac.uk <rishi@strubi.ox.ac.uk>

Structure (London, England : 1993)
|April 18, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Researchers mapped the structure of the Interleukin 11 (IL-11) signaling complex. This reveals how the receptor complex changes shape to trigger cellular signals, potentially explaining cytokine signal transfer.

Area of Science:

  • Structural biology
  • Molecular and cellular biology
  • Biochemistry

Background:

  • gp130 is a crucial receptor for hematopoietic cytokines, mediating signal transduction.
  • Understanding the structure of gp130-containing complexes is key to deciphering cytokine signaling pathways.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine the high-resolution structure of the Interleukin 11 (IL-11) complex with its receptor and gp130.
  • To investigate the conformational dynamics and potential signal-triggering mechanisms of this complex.

Main Methods:

  • Cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) at 3.0 Å resolution.
  • Normal-mode analysis to study conformational changes.

Main Results:

  • The study determined the architecture and dynamics of the IL-11-IL-11 Receptor-gp130 extracellular complex.
  • Normal-mode analysis identified conformational changes suggesting a concerted signal triggering mechanism.

Conclusions:

  • The findings suggest a unified signaling mechanism for cytokines that use the gp130 receptor.
  • This provides insights into the general mechanism of signal transfer for cytokines utilizing the JAK-STAT signaling cascade.

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