de Brevern AG. A Perspective on the (Rise and Fall of) Protein β-Turns.
Int J Mol Sci 2022;
23:12314. [PMID:
36293166 PMCID:
PMC9604201 DOI:
10.3390/ijms232012314]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 10/07/2022] [Accepted: 10/13/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The β-turn is the third defined secondary structure after the α-helix and the β-sheet. The β-turns were described more than 50 years ago and account for more than 20% of protein residues. Nonetheless, they are often overlooked or even misunderstood. This poor knowledge of these local protein conformations is due to various factors, causes that I discuss here. For example, confusion still exists about the assignment of these local protein structures, their overlaps with other structures, the potential absence of a stabilizing hydrogen bond, the numerous types of β-turns and the software's difficulty in assigning or visualizing them. I also propose some ideas to potentially/partially remedy this and present why β-turns can still be helpful, even in the AlphaFold 2 era.
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