A pharmaceutical researcher is studying a target protein involved in the signal transduction and cellular response to TSH. The protein is isolated and purified from thyroid follicular cells. Further analysis reveals that the protein contains multiple alpha-helical regions. Each of these regions is composed of approximately 20 amino acid residues consisting primarily of valine, alanine, and isoleucine. This particular region of the protein most likely performs which of the following functions?

Question

A pharmaceutical researcher is studying a target protein involved in the signal transduction and cellular response to TSH.  The protein is isolated and purified from thyroid follicular cells.  Further analysis reveals that the protein contains multiple alpha-helical regions.  Each of these regions is composed of approximately 20 amino acid residues consisting primarily of valine, alanine, and isoleucine.  This particular region of the protein most likely performs which of the following functions?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eductional Objective: Integral membrane proteins contain transmembrane domains composed of alpha helices with hydrophobic amino acid residues (eg, alanine, valine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, methionine, proline, glycine).  These transmembrane domains help anchor the protein to the phospholipid bilayer of the cell membrane.

A Pharmaceutical Researcher Is Studying a Target Protein Involved in the Signal