Foldit Puzzles

2728: Revisiting Puzzle 74: Platypus Venom

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This small peptide was discovered in platypus venom-a rare instance of mammalian-produced venom, although this peptide appears similar to more widespread antimicrobials. This protein contains six cysteine residues that oxidize to form three disulfide bonds. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been.

2727: LRH-1 Round 3

LRH-1 (liver receptor homologue-1) is a nuclear receptor that helps control how the body balances fat and sugar metabolism by turning specific genes on and off. Because of this central role, tuning LRH-1 activity has shown therapeutic promise: synthetic compounds that modulate LRH-1 can reduce symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes in mouse models. LRH-1 is also implicated in multiple cancers, making it an important, but notoriously difficult, drug target.

2726: Electron Density Reconstruction 157

The structure of this protein complex has already been solved and published, but close inspection suggests that there are some problems with the published solution. We'd like to see if Foldit players can use the same electron density data to reconstruct a better model. This puzzle comes from PDB entry 2OE2.

2725: Revisiting Puzzle 73: Polycystein

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This domain is a component of a large glycoprotein in humans that has been linked to autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been.

2724: SF-1 Round 2

SF-1 (steroidogenic factor-1) is a nuclear receptor that helps control hormone balance by regulating genes involved in steroid production. Because SF-1 sits at the center of these pathways, adjusting its activity has strong therapeutic potential: SF-1 has been linked to obesity and metabolic dysfunction, plays important roles in reproduction, and is a proposed therapeutic target for endometriosis. SF-1 is also associated with several cancers—including the rare and aggressive adrenocortical carcinoma—making it a compelling but challenging drug target.

2723: Electron Density Reconstruction 156

The rather funky structure of this protein complex has already been solved and published, but close inspection suggests that there are some problems with the published solution. We'd like to see if Foldit players can use the same electron density data to reconstruct a better model. This puzzle comes from PDB entry 2OCY.

2722: Revisiting Puzzle 72: Citric Acid Cycle

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This short protein is a component of the α-ketoglutarate dehydrogenase complex, which is best known for its role in the citric acid cycle. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been.

2721: LRH-1 Round 2

LRH-1 (liver receptor homologue-1) is a nuclear receptor that helps control how the body balances fat and sugar metabolism by turning specific genes on and off. Because of this central role, tuning LRH-1 activity has shown therapeutic promise: synthetic compounds that modulate LRH-1 can reduce symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease and diabetes in mouse models. LRH-1 is also implicated in multiple cancers, making it an important, but notoriously difficult, drug target.

2720: Electron Density Reconstruction 155

The structure of this protein has already been solved and published, but close inspection suggests that there are some problems with the published solution. We'd like to see if Foldit players can use the same electron density data to reconstruct a better model.This puzzle comes from PDB entry 2O9X

2719: Revisiting Puzzle 71: Crystallin

This is a throwback puzzle to the early days of Foldit. This protein is found in high concentrations in the lens of the eye. Among its other functions, it is responsible for the high refractive index (and resulting optical properties) of the lens. The protein is modeled here in reduced state, so no disulfides are expected to form. We are revisiting old Foldit puzzles so we can see how useful the recent additions to the game have been.