Premium
Thr 94 and Wat2b Effect Protonation of the Retinal Chromophore in Rhodopsin
Author(s) -
Buss Volker,
Sugihara Minoru,
Entel Peter,
Hafner Jürgen
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
angewandte chemie international edition
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 5.831
H-Index - 550
eISSN - 1521-3773
pISSN - 1433-7851
DOI - 10.1002/anie.200351034
Subject(s) - rhodopsin , chromophore , protonation , retinal , schiff base , chemistry , ab initio , glutamate receptor , opsin , photochemistry , stereochemistry , biophysics , biochemistry , biology , organic chemistry , receptor , ion
Only with the help from (little) “friends” is it possible for the 11‐ cis ‐retinal Schiff base to compete successfully against Glu 113 for a proton (see picture). A strategically placed amino acid, Thr 94, plus a water molecule are sufficient to reduce the basicity of the glutamate and stabilize the protonated chromophore—this is the result of ab initio optimization and molecular‐dynamic study of the retinal binding site in rhodopsin.