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Structure of Urea Transporters

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Urea Transporters

Part of the book series: Subcellular Biochemistry ((SCBI,volume 73))

Abstract

Members of the urea transporter (UT) family mediate rapid, selective transport of urea down its concentration gradient. To date, crystal structures of two evolutionarily distant UTs have been solved. These structures reveal a common UT fold involving two structurally homologous domains that encircle a continuous membrane-spanning pore and indicate that UTs transport urea via a channel-like mechanism. Examination of the conserved architecture of the pore, combined with crystal structures of ligand-bound proteins, molecular dynamics simulations, and functional data on permeation and inhibition by a broad range of urea analogs and other small molecules, provides insight into the structural basis of urea permeation and selectivity.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (R01DK088057, R01GM098878 and R01HL086392), the American Heart Association (12EIA8850017), and the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (R12MZ).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Verna and Marrs McLean Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine, 1 Baylor Plaza, Houston, TX 77030, USA

    Elena J. Levin & Ming Zhou

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  1. Elena J. Levin
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  2. Ming Zhou
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Correspondence to Ming Zhou .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Basic Medical Sciences, Department of Pharmacology, Peking University, Beijing, China

    Baoxue Yang

  2. Renal Division, Department of Medicine and Department of Physiology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA

    Jeff M. Sands

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Levin, E.J., Zhou, M. (2014). Structure of Urea Transporters. In: Yang, B., Sands, J. (eds) Urea Transporters. Subcellular Biochemistry, vol 73. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-9343-8_5

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