Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40658860›Full record

ArticleProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America2025

De novo design of a fusion protein tool for GPCR research.

Kaixuan Gao, Xin Zhang, Jia Nie, Hengyu Meng, Weishe Zhang, Boxue Tian, Xiangyu Liu

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
7citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

7 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. A novel fusion tool to enable G protein-coupled receptor structure determination.Acta crystallographica. Section D, Structural biology · 2026
    Article
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Extracellular nanobody screening using conformationally stable GPCR variants.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Kaixuan Gao *State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Xin Zhang *State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.ORCID 0009-0008-6115-1669
Jia Nie *Department of Obstetrics, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Hengyu MengState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Weishe ZhangDepartment of Obstetrics, Xiangya Hospital Central South University, Changsha 410013, China.
Boxue TianState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.
Xiangyu LiuState Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Tsinghua-Peking Center for Life Sciences, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.ORCID 0000-0003-3178-9238

Funding

MOST | National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC) Grant 81974236MOST | NSFC | Excellent Young Scientists Fund (Young Scientists Fund) Grant 32122041
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) play pivotal roles in cellular signaling and represent prominent drug targets. Structural elucidation of GPCRs is crucial for drug discovery efforts. However, structural studies of GPCRs remain challenging, particularly for inactive-state structures, which often require extensive protein engineering. Here, we present a de novo design strategy termed "click fusion" for generating fusion proteins to facilitate GPCR structural studies. Our method involves the rational design of structurally stable protein domains rigidly linked to GPCRs. The resulting fusion protein enhances the thermostability of the target GPCR and aids in determining GPCR structures via cryoelectron microscopy (cryo-EM). We further demonstrate that the designed fusion protein can be transferred among structurally similar GPCRs with minor adjustments to the linker region. Our study introduces a promising approach for facilitating GPCR structural studies and advancing drug discovery efforts.

Indexed as

Protein EngineeringReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledRecombinant Fusion ProteinsCryoelectron MicroscopyHumansModels, MolecularProtein ConformationReceptors, G-Protein-CoupledRecombinant Fusion Proteinscryo-EM structureGPCRprotein design

Identifiers

PMID40658860
PMCPMC12304938

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.