@article {2014|1598,
	title = {A predicted binding site for cholesterol on the GABAA receptor.},
	journal = {Biophys. J.},
	volume = {106},
	number = {9},
	year = {2014},
	month = {may},
	pages = {1938{\textendash}1949},
	publisher = {Department of Physics, Rutgers University-Camden, Camden, New Jersey; Center for Computational and Integrative Biology, Rutgers University-Camden, Camden, New Jersey. Electronic address: Grace.Brannigan@rutgers.edu.},
	abstract = {Modulation of the GABA type A receptor (GABAAR) function by cholesterol and other steroids is documented at the functional level, yet its structural basis is largely unknown. Current data on structurally related modulators suggest that cholesterol binds to subunit interfaces between transmembrane domains of the GABAAR. We construct homology models of a human GABAAR based on the structure of the glutamate-gated chloride channel GluCl of Caenorhabditis elegans. The models show the possibility of previously unreported disulfide bridges linking the M1 and M3 transmembrane helices in the α and γ subunits. We discuss the biological relevance of such disulfide bridges. Using our models, we investigate cholesterol binding to intersubunit cavities of the GABAAR transmembrane domain. We find that very similar binding modes are predicted independently by three approaches: analogy with ivermectin in the GluCl crystal structure, automated docking by AutoDock, and spontaneous rebinding events in unbiased molecular dynamics simulations. Taken together, the models and atomistic simulations suggest a somewhat flexible binding mode, with several possible orientations. Finally, we explore the possibility that cholesterol promotes pore opening through a wedge mechanism.},
	keywords = {Amino Acid, Binding Sites, Caenorhabditis elegans Proteins, chemistry, chemistry/metabolism, Chloride Channels, Cholesterol, GABA-A, Humans, Hydrogen Bonding, Ivermectin, metabolism, Molecular Docking Simulation, Molecular Dynamics Simulation, Porosity, Protein Binding, Protein Conformation, Receptors, Sequence Homology, Substrate Specificity},
	doi = {10.1016/j.bpj.2014.03.024},
	author = {J{\'e}r{\^o}me H{\'e}nin and Salari, Reza and Murlidaran, Sruthi and Grace Brannigan}
}
@article {2008|1603,
	title = {Diffusion of glycerol through Escherichia coli aquaglyceroporin GlpF},
	journal = {Biophys. J.},
	volume = {94},
	number = {3},
	year = {2008},
	pages = {832{\textendash}839},
	abstract = {The glycerol uptake facilitator, GlpF, a major intrinsic protein found in Escherichia coli, selectively conducts water and glycerol across the inner membrane. The free energy landscape characterizing the assisted transport of glycerol by this homotetrameric aquaglyceroporin has been explored by means of equilibrium molecular dynamics over a timescale spanning 0.12 micros. To overcome the free energy barriers of the conduction pathway, an adaptive biasing force is applied to the glycerol molecule confined in each of the four channels. The results illuminate the critical role played by intramolecular relaxation on the diffusion properties of the permeant. These free energy calculations reveal that glycerol tumbles and isomerizes on a timescale comparable to that spanned by its adaptive-biasing-force-assisted conduction in GlpF. As a result, reorientation and conformational equilibrium of glycerol in GlpF constitute a bottleneck in the molecular simulations of the permeation event. A profile characterizing the position-dependent diffusion of the permeant has been determined, allowing reaction rate theory to be applied for investigating conduction kinetics based on the measured free energy landscape.},
	keywords = {Aquaporins, Chemical, Computer Simulation, Diffusion, Escherichia coli Proteins, Glycerol, Ion Channel Gating, Models, Molecular, Molecular Conformation, Porosity},
	doi = {10.1529/biophysj.107.115105},
	author = {J{\'e}r{\^o}me H{\'e}nin and Emad Tajkhorshid and Klaus Schulten and Christophe Chipot}
}
