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Updated: May 25, 2026

Generating a Fractal Microstructure of Laminin-111 to Signal to Cells
Published on: September 28, 2020
Conformational switch of a flexible loop in human laminin receptor determines laminin-1 interaction
Carmen Di Giovanni1, Alessandro Grottesi, Antonio Lavecchia
1Department of Pharmaceutical and Toxicological Chemistry,‘‘Drug Discovery Laboratory’’, University of Naples ‘‘FedericoII’’, Via D. Montesano 49, 80131 Naples, Italy.
Abstract:
The 37/67-kDa human laminin receptor(LamR) is a cell surface protein that interacts with molecules located in the extra-cellular matrix. In particular, interactions between LamR and laminins play a major role in mediating changes in the cellular environment that affect cell adhesion, neurite outgrowth, tumor growth and metastasis. The exact interaction mode of laminin-1 and LamR is not fully understood. Laminin-1 is thought to bind to LamR through interaction with the so-called peptide G (residues 161–180) and the C-terminal helix (residues 205–229). Here we performed 100-ns atomistic force field based molecular dynamics simulations to explore the structure and dynamics of LamR related to laminin-1 interactions. Our main finding is that loop 188–197 in the C-terminal region is highly flexible. It undergoes a major change resulting in a conformational switch that partially solvent exposes the R180 residue in the final part of the G peptide. So, R180 could contribute to laminin-1 binding. Projection of the simulations along the first two principal components also confirms the importance of this conformational switch in the LamR. This may be a basic prerequisite to clarify the key structural determinants of the interaction of LamR with laminin-1.
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