New biology unveiled for fundamental cellular machinery

 Originally published by the University of Helsinki, on March 11, 2024

3D printed version of the endogenous Human Commander complex. Credit: Markku Varjosalo & Esa-Pekka Kumpula

Cellular communication relies on receptor molecules on the cell surface. The periodic uptake and sorting of these receptors, critical for their degradation or recycling, are governed by an elaborate machinery prominently featuring the Commander complex.

Research teams at the Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, led by Dr. Markku Varjosalo and Prof. Juha Huiskonen, dissected the molecular interactions and atomic structure of this supercomplex, in its purest native form present in human cells.

The study is published in Nature Structural & Molecular Biology.

New avenues for potential therapeutic interventions in diseases

The Commander complex's three-dimensional arrangement and the extent of its interaction landscape have remained a mystery until now. The research team employed cryogenic electron microscopy to capture the structure, complemented by mass spectrometry to analyze complex interactions within cells.

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