Structure of translocator protein hints at role in disease

摘要

Ttranslocator protein (TSPO) is ubiq-uitous throughout our bodies. It transports cholesterol and other molecules across the membranes of mitochondria-the power stations inside our cells-and has also been implicated in Alzheimer's disease, various cancers and cardiovascular disease. But scientists are still in the dark about how TSPO works, and its precise role in disease. Now, two research groups have independently solved the structures of similar TSPOs from bacteria, offering clues about how TSPO functions that could spur the development of targeted drugs and better brain-imaging agents.