EUROPEAN ANNEXIN HOMEPAGE
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INTRODUCTION
Update: 15.12.2004
Annexins
Annexins are a family of structurally related proteins whose common property is calcium-dependent binding to phospholipids. Although this property may be due to highly conserved sequences, the existence of at least ten different annexins in the mammalian species suggests that they have specific and diverse biological functions.
Specificity and diversity may be carried by the N-terminal domains, different for all annexins, but may also be the consequence of interactions of annexins either with other members of this protein family or other cellular partners. Indeed, the knowledge of the three-dimensional structure of the conserved core of some annexins has not given sufficient understanding of their biological function.
To address the issue of the complexity and diversity of the biological functions of this protein family, the interactions of annexins with other proteins are investigated by a combination of structural, cell and molecular biology methods:
  • preparation of annexins and interacting proteins
  • production of large quantities of these proteins
  • X-ray crystallography
  • low- and high-resolution electron microscopy
  • electrophysiology
  • fluorescence spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation
  • search for cellular partners of annexins
  • immunolocalisation of proteins within cells
  • transfection experiments on the partners for annexins.
© 1997-2007 by ah
Version 8: 15.12.04 / Infrequently updated.