![Solving a Key Enzyme's Structure]()
The enzyme cytochrome c oxidase (CcO) plays a key role in enabling the mitochondria in cells to generate energy: It propels protons across the inner mitochondrial membrane so that molecules of ATP can be synthesized. But how CcO performs that function isn’t known. To help answer that question, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences has awarded Denis Rousseau, Ph.D. and Syun-Ru Yeh, Ph.D., a four-year, $2 million grant to determine CcO’s crystal structure. To do so, serial femtosecond crystallography with an X-ray free electron laser will be used, which should for the first time reveal the structure of the enzyme’s catalytic intermediates under near-physiological conditions. The findings could lead to therapies for some of the 40 or so diseases caused by defective mitochondrial function. Drs. Rousseau and Yeh are professors of physiology & biophysics at Einstein and Dr. Rousseau is chair of the department.
Posted on: Thursday, December 14, 2017