Help us to solve a Vascular endothelial growth factor protein!

Started by beta_helix

beta_helix Staff Lv 1

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a protein released to trigger new blood vessels to form. This is important in embryonic development and when healing from cuts and damage, but it can also be hijacked by cancer cells to trick the body into providing extra blood vessels (angiogenesis).

Puzzle 1012 comes from the VEGF receptor (type 1). The receptor forms a membrane dimer, with an extracellular part that binds VEGF and an intracellular kinase domain which is responsible for signaling. The extracellular portion consists of seven Immunoglobulin-like (Ig) domains. This puzzle consists of the sequence for domain 6.
Some experimental data has been collected for the VEGF receptor, but it hasn't yet lead to a finished structure. The hope is that if you can help us find near-native solutions then your Foldit predictions can be used to improve the structure. That in turn could lead to a better understanding of angiogenesis and eventually to new anti-cancer treatments.

Please try out the first puzzle for this unsolved protein here .

UPDATE: try out the second puzzle for this unsolved protein here .

beta_helix Staff Lv 1

The first two puzzles for this protein were able to significantly improve the structure of domain 6 of this protein. A third puzzle tackles domain 1, which is the part of this receptor furthest from the cell membrane.

Keep up the great folding and try out this latest puzzle!