Researchers from the Göttingen Cluster of Excellence Mutliscale Bioimaging (MBExC) have uncovered the 3D structure of the membrane proteins myoferlin and dysferlin using high-resolution cryo-electron microscopy. The findings enable new approaches for the development of targeted drugs for the treatment of diseases such as muscle atrophy, hearing disorders and certain cancers. The results have been published in the renowned scientific journal “The EMBO Journal”.
Legend: 3D reconstruction of the myoferlin structure from cryo-EM datasets. Upon membrane-binding, a much more compact ring-like arrangement (right) of the various key domains (colored) is achieved compared to the lipid-free myoferlin protein (left). Credit: Cretu/mbexc
