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Updated: Jun 22, 2026

Methods for the Discovery of Novel Compounds Modulating a Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid Receptor Type A Neurotransmission
Published on: August 16, 2018
Comparative modeling of human NSF reveals a possible binding mode of GABARAP and GATE-16
Yvonne Thielmann1, Oliver H Weiergräber, Peixiang Ma
1Institut für Strukturbiologie und Biophysik 3 (Strukturbiochemie), Forschungszentrum Jülich, 52425 Jülich, Germany.
Abstract:
Vesicular trafficking is an important homeostatic process in eukaryotic cells which critically relies on membrane fusion. One of the essential components of the universal membrane fusion machinery is NSF (N-ethylmaleimide-sensitive factor), a large hexameric ATPase involved in disassembly of SNARE (soluble NSF attachment protein receptor) complexes. To improve our understanding of this sophisticated molecular machine, we have modeled the structure of the NSF hexamer in two alternative assemblies. Our data suggest a mechanistic concept of the operating mode of NSF which helps to explain the functional impact of post-translational modifications and mutations reported previously. Furthermore, we propose a binding site for the ubiquitin-like proteins GABARAP and GATE-16, which is supported by experimental evidence, yielding a complex with favorable surface complementarity.
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