Amino acids constitute one of the most critical components of living cells and are involved in numerous internal processes, such as relaying signals throughout complex living organisms. Amino acids are, without exaggeration, fundamental to life itself, although this is not yet comprehensively understood. We do know that amino acids do most of the work involved in growing a multicellular organism and carrying out the code present in an organism’s DNA. Research into the binding affinity of amino acids is not only critical to understanding these cell-signaling and evolutionary processes. It also allows for radically new approaches to drug discovery and development.
Despite all amino acids sharing common structural elements, an effective, universal mechanism for cellular receptors to identify and bind to amino acids has not been available to modern medicine. Promising new research aims to change that. Scientists at Ohio State University, with assistance from colleagues in the United Kingdom, have identified a human receptor protein that can detect individual amino acids much as bacteria do.
The implications of this discovery are both profound and practical. A more complete understanding of this protein and its mechanisms could help researchers better comprehend the mechanics of evolution and even the concept of life itself. Approached from a certain angle, the research suggests that complex entities like humans share common elements with simple bacteria when it comes to sensing and seeking essential resources like oxygen, moisture, or food. More immediately, this could also be a watershed moment for the development of new, highly targeted drugs derived from the GABA amino acid.
Receptors and Sensors
Cell surfaces include protein structures that can detect things like nutrients and critical minerals, but each uses different types. Prior to this research, a common mechanism between all these different types of sensors had not been known, making each type of cell that displays nutrient-seeking behavior analogous to a unique lock-and-key combination.
The research identified a “universal motif” that is present in receptors across many different cells and sensors and which applies to “nearly every organism,” according to the study’s senior author, Igor Jouline. This is to say that simple bacteria and human beings — organisms separated by billions of years of evolution — are both leveraging this same cellular mechanism despite the vast differences in cellular protein structures.
By exhaustively comparing genomic data from organisms with similar receptors to humans, the researchers were able to pinpoint an extremely specific structural feature, or motif, that cells were leveraging in the detection of amino acids. This was verified through comprehensive analysis of sequence and structure data.
In humans, this “universal” motif exists on an outer-facing protein structure crossing a cell’s outer membrane. By comparing their own original research to available data, the researchers determined that the motif was in no way specific to the way human cells find and bind to amino acids. In fact, it was found repeatedly across just about every organism on earth. The only exceptions identified to date have been fungi and certain plants. Additional research verified that the motif serves the same purpose — binding to amino acids — across all the different proteins and organisms in which it was identified. In bacteria, the motif’s ability to locate amino acids plays an extremely fundamental role in the propagation of life: amino acids are consumed by bacteria as an energy source. The mechanism is much the same in humans and other complex organisms, only on a greater and more complex scale.
New Frontiers in Evolutionary Biology
The discovery of this universal motif and its binding affinity for critical amino acids represents a new frontier in the development of targeted medications as well as the field of evolutionary biology. Rapid advances in medicine and scholarship are to be expected in the wake of this amino acid “master key” being discovered.