Ion Modulation in Secondary Transporters

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atmire.migration.oldid4149
dc.contributor.advisorNoskov, Sergei
dc.contributor.authorZdravkovic, Igor
dc.contributor.committeememberEdwards, Robert Allan
dc.contributor.committeememberTieleman, Peter
dc.contributor.committeememberTurner, Raymond J.
dc.contributor.committeememberMacCallum, Justin Laine
dc.contributor.committeememberCasey, Joseph Roman
dc.date.accessioned2016-02-02T19:40:49Z
dc.date.available2016-02-02T19:40:49Z
dc.date.issued2016-02-02
dc.date.submitted2016en
dc.description.abstractMolecular transport across the cell membrane is an important and highly regulated process. Secondary transporters are a large family of integral membrane proteins responsible for mediating molecular exchange. Pre-existing ion gradients are utilized to drive secondary transport. Our focus was on the solute carrier (SLC) family of secondary transporters, specifically those that utilize Na+ to drive transport. The SLC family can be further classified as a sodium substrate symporter (SSS). Specifically, we focused on the human serotonin and dopamine transporters (SLC6) and iodide symporters (SLC5). The sodium electrochemical potential is coupled to the energetically unfavourable transport of the substrate. This yields a net favourable translocation of the substrate and co-transported ions. Little structural information is available on the SSS family transporters and even less when only the human variants are considered. This prompted an attempt to predict human protein structures using the available data from bacterial homologues to fill the knowledge gap. The methodology was based on the X-ray structures of the leucine transporter (LeuT) and sodium galactose transporter (vSGLT). Through our structural alignments we were able to identify the ion binding sites. With the help of Glide docking software, we successfully identified substrate and inhibitors binding sites. Molecular dynamics were used to simulate biologically relevant systems and find the forces driving substrate and ion binding. Our computational biochemistry approach has proven to be a reliable method to study the transport and substrate interactions. In addition, our collaborative efforts successfully merged theoretical and experimental science.en_US
dc.identifier.citationZdravkovic, I. (2016). Ion Modulation in Secondary Transporters (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/26671en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/26671
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11023/2808
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.facultyGraduate Studies
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Calgaryen
dc.publisher.placeCalgaryen
dc.rightsUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.
dc.subjectBiology
dc.subjectBioinformatics
dc.subjectMicrobiology
dc.subjectNeuroscience
dc.subjectBiophysics
dc.subjectBiophysics--Medical
dc.subjectMental Health
dc.subjectPharmacology
dc.subjectChemistry--Pharmaceutical
dc.subject.classificationComputational Biochemistryen_US
dc.titleIon Modulation in Secondary Transporters
dc.typedoctoral thesis
thesis.degree.disciplineBiological Sciences
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Calgary
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (PhD)
ucalgary.item.requestcopytrue
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