News

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  Student with a Dream Publishes Agonist-bound Marijuana Receptor Structure in Nature

  A team of scientists led by Professor Zhi-jie Liu at the iHuman Institute of ShanghaiTech University has determined the 3-dimensional molecular structure of the agonist-bound human cannabinoid receptor CB1. The work reveals the structural features of agonist-bound CB1 and the activation mechanism of the receptor. The results, described in a paper entitled “Crystal structures of agonist-bound human cannabinoid receptor CB1”, published online on July 6, 2017 in the prestigious journal Nature.Read More ...
   
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  iHuman Institute at ShanghaiTech University and Amgen Asia R&D Center determine the High-resolution Human Apelin Receptor Structure

  Shanghai, May 18, 2017 — An international team led by the Xu lab at the iHuman Institute of ShanghaiTech University and the Amgen Asia R&D Center have determined the crystal structure of the human apelin receptor (APJR) in complex with a 17-aa peptide agonist at 2.6 Å. The results provide a mechanistic understanding of apelin recognition and binding specificity to APJR. The results, described in a paper entitled “Structural basis for apelin control of the human apelin receptor” , is published on May 18, 2017 in Structure, Cell Press.Read More ...
   
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  Key Diabetes Receptor Structure Determined by International Collaboration—Shanghai Led Consortium Produces High Resolution 3D map of GLP-1R

  SHANGHAI, May 17, 2017 — An international team led by the iHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University has determined the 3-dimensional molecular structure of the human glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) drug binding domain. The work reveals molecular mechanisms of allosteric regulation in class B G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). The results, described in a paper entitled “Human GLP-1 receptor transmembrane domain structure in complex with allosteric modulators”, is published online on May 17, 2017 in the journal Nature. This paper is published simultaneously with a companion paper led by colleagues at the Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica (SIMM) describing the full-length glucagon receptor in the same journal.Read More ...
   
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  The iHuman Team at ShanghaiTech University Deciphers the Multi-domain Structure of Human Smoothened Receptor

  SHANGHAI, May 17, 2017 — A team of scientists led by the iHuman Institute of ShanghaiTech University in collaboration with Fudan University has determined the high-resolution crystal structure of the multi-domain human smoothened receptor.  The results illustrate the allosteric domain-domain interactions within the receptor, and their role in smoothened activation. These new findings are published on May 17, 2017 in Nature Communications, titled “Crystal structure of a multi-domain human smoothened receptor in complex with a super stabilizing ligand” by Zhang X-J et al.Read More ...