21 - Analysis of the Structure and Function of the Fast Nerve Growth Factor Receptor

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the analysis of a cDNA sequence encoding a protein (receptor) of possibly unknown structure and function. Proteins, particularly receptors and channels, are primarily responsible for transducing signals across cell membranes. Two general strategies are used to analyze the structure and function of these proteins. The first strategy consists of direct modification of the protein, before or after purification, and analyzing the effects of the modification. The second strategy is called recombinant DNA technology, which consists of the isolation of DNA sequences that encode receptors. After the isolation of the receptor-encoding sequence, the normal proteins as well as mutant forms of the protein are produces in large amounts in various in vitro systems, which facilitate the analysis. The chapter describes some fundamental experiments that can be performed virtually in any laboratory with a minimum of equipment for understanding the structure and function of a particular receptor.