Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 17, 2026

Structural Biology and Analytical Chemistry Approaches for Characterizing C-Glycoside Metabolic Enzymes in Human Gut Microbiota
Published on: May 23, 2025
Crystallization and Structural Determination of the Human Glucose Transporters GLUT1 and GLUT3
1Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children of MOE, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy, West China Second Hospital, Sichuan University and National Collaborative Innovation Center, Chengdu, 610041, China. dengd@scu.edu.cn.
Abstract:
Overexpression, purification, and crystallization of eukaryotic membrane proteins represent a major challenge for structural biology. In recent years, we have solved the crystal structures of the human glucose transporters GLUT1 in the inward-open conformation at 3.17 Å resolution and GLUT3 in the outward-open and occluded conformations at 2.4 and 1.5 Å resolutions, respectively. Structural elucidation of these transporters in three distinct functional states reveal the molecular basis for the alternating access transport cycle of this prototypal solute carrier family. It established the molecular foundation for future dynamic and kinetic investigations of these GLUTs, and will likely facilitate structure-based ligand development. In this chapter, we present the detailed protocols of recombinant protein expression, purification, and crystallization of GLUT1 and GLUT3, which may help the pursuit of structural elucidation of other eukaryotic membrane proteins.
More Related Videos
05:28Demonstration of Heterologous Complexes formed by Golgi-Resident Type III Membrane Proteins using Split Luciferase Complementation Assay
Published on: September 10, 2020
06:47Author Spotlight: A Bicelle Crystallization Setup for ABC Transporter Membrane Proteins to Advance Drug Development
Published on: August 25, 2023
Related Concept Videos
Glucose Transporters
Facilitated diffusion-glucose transporters (GLUTs) are encoded by the solute-linked carrier (SLC) family 2, subfamily A gene family, or SLC2A. The 14 GLUT protein members are distributed into three classes:
Glucose Absorption Into the Small Intestine
Oligosaccharide Assembly
Multiple sugar molecules that may or may...
Membrane Proteins
Secondary Active Transport