LSm proteins are a family of RNA-binding proteins found in virtually every cellular organism. LSm is a contraction of 'like Sm', because the first identified members of the LSm protein family were the Sm proteins. LSm proteins are defined by a characteristic three-dimensional structure and their assembly into rings of six or seven individual LSm protein molecules, and play a large number of various roles in mRNA processing and regulation. The Sm proteins were first discovered as antigens targeted by so-called anti-Sm antibodies in a patient with a form of systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a debilitating autoimmune disease. They were named Sm proteins in honor of Stephanie Smith, a patient who suffered from SLE. Other proteins with very similar structures were subsequently discovered and named LSm proteins. New members of the LSm protein family continue to be identified and reported. Here you have an unpublished crystal structure of SmAP protein from the bacterium Methanococcus vannielii in complex with UDP (PDB code: 5MNK)
#molecularart ... #immolecular ... #RNAbinding ... #heptamer ... #crystal ... #LSm ... #Methanococcus ... Rendered with @proteinimaging and polished with @corelphotopaint
#molecularart ... #immolecular ... #RNAbinding ... #heptamer ... #crystal ... #LSm ... #Methanococcus ... Rendered with @proteinimaging and polished with @corelphotopaint
