Some Proteins Change Their Folds to Perform Different Jobs
quantamagazine.org- As technology gets better, scientists can see more - in this case, they’ve been noticing that not all proteins have only one purpose, as previously believed.
- Turns out that proteins can fold into different shapes depending on what they’re told to do.
- Example - XCL1, metamorphic human protein, one shape allows it to bind to receptors on white blood cells and use them to fight infections.
- Another shape allows it to become an antibiotic, and kill invasive bacteria.
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