(Nanowerk News) Membrane proteins play an important role in many biological processes. Studies suggest they’re targeted by more than 50% of all modern medicinal drugs. Unfortunately for researchers, determining their structures has been a longstanding challenge because it’s difficult to track the protein without damaging the cellular membrane using current techniques. Not anymore.
The findings, which were published in the Journal of Cell Science ("CryoAPEX – an electron tomography tool for subcellular localization of membrane proteins"), show that HYPE is strongly drawn to the lumen. This means that HYPE is tightly regulated, and if it ever does leave the endoplasmic reticulum, it would likely be under disease-specific conditions.