Browsing by Author "Mugumbate, Grace Chitima"

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    Enhancing the fight against malaria : from genome to structure and activity of a G-protein coupled receptor from the mosquito, Anopheles Gambiae
    (2010) Mugumbate, Grace Chitima; Jackson, Graham Ellis
    G-proton coupled receptors (GPCRs) are excellent drug targets that occupy a central position in the physiology of insects and are involved in transmission of signal from the extracellular to the intracellular side of the cell. Adipokinetic hormone receptors (AKHRs) are GPCRs that mediate physiological functions of the neurohormones, adipokinetic hormones (AKHs) that regulate mobilisation of energy reserves during mosquito flight. Ligand binding to GPCRs depends on the three dimensional (3D) structures of the receptors but to date no crystal structures of insect GPCRs are available. This work focused on building molecular models of AKHR from the genome of the malaria mosquito, identifying its binding site and studying the conformational and structural changes during molecular dynamics of the active and inactive receptor.