科技科学

‘Superdark’ protein looks like a G-protein-coupled receptor — but shows unconventional behaviour

Nature正文已收录本站
  • NEWS AND VIEWS

Mining millions of AI-predicted structures reveals an evolutionarily conserved protein that resembles a receptor family member but functions differently.

By

  1. Nil Casajuana-Martin

    1. Nil Casajuana-Martin is in the Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA.

  2. M. Madan Babu

    1. M. Madan Babu is in the Center of Excellence for Data Driven Discovery, Department of Structural Biology, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memphis, Tennessee 38105, USA.

Most human proteins have been catalogued. However, many remain part of the ‘dark proteome’, which comprises proteins with functions that cannot be readily inferred because their amino-acid sequences are not similar to those of characterized protein families1. Writing in Nature, Lee et al.2 use predicted protein structures to shine a light on this poorly understood group of proteins.

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-026-02472-x

References

  1. Oprea, T. I. et al. Nature Rev. Drug Discov. 17, 317–332 (2018).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Lee, K. et al. Nature https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-026-10993-8 (2026).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Venkatakrishnan, A. J. et al. Nature 494, 185–194 (2013).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. Chothia, C. & Lesk, A. M. EMBO J. 5, 823–826 (1986).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Jumper, J. et al. Nature 596, 583–589 (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Pandey, S. et al. Mol. Cell 81, 4605–4621, (2021).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Rustom, A., Saffrich, R., Markovic, I., Walther, P. & Gerdes, H.-H. Science 303, 1007–1010 (2004).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Liu, S., Daly, C. A., Ogden, S. K. & Zurzolo, C. Nature Rev. Mol. Cell Biol. 27, 684–701 (2026).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Varadi, M. et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 52, D368–D375 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  10. van Kempen, M. et al. Nature Biotechnol. 42, 243–246 (2024).

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

  • Read the paper: TM184C is a GPCR-like regulator of intercellular exchange and autophagy

  • Dogma-defying signalling through G proteins could lead to better pain relief

  • Protein-structure prediction revolutionized

  • See all News & Views

Subjects

Latest on:

  • Cell biology
  • Computational biology and bioinformatics
  • Structural biology

  • TM184C is a GPCR-like regulator of intercellular exchange and autophagy

    Article

  • AI model predicts which breast-cancer drugs work best

    News

  • Drug delivery gets subcellular

    Outlook

  • TM184C is a GPCR-like regulator of intercellular exchange and autophagy

    Article

  • Use AI as a sparring partner, not an oracle

    World View

  • The Einstein test: what happens when AI tries to rediscover relativity?

    News Feature

  • Structure and operating principles of a monkeypox virus replisome

    Article

  • Evolutionary mystery revealed by structures of a key enzyme in the synthesis of glycolipids

    News & Views

  • Primate-specific regulation of the human glycosphingolipid gatekeeper UGCG

    Article