= Krzysztof Palczewski
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<Krzysztof Palczewski> is a researcher in the molecular basis of vision. In a 2000 collaborative study, he helped determine the <X-ray crystallography> structure of <rhodopsin> at 2.8 angstrom resolution. <Rhodopsin> is a light-sensitive <G protein-coupled receptor>; the structure showed its seven membrane-spanning <alpha helices> and the buried binding environment of <retinal>.<Crystal Structure of Rhodopsin: A G Protein-Coupled Receptor by Krzysztof Palczewski and others>[Page 739, Abstract and structure determination; Science 289, 739–745, 2000]{ref}
The structure connected architecture with a signaling problem: how can a light-driven change near <retinal> influence the intracellular surface that activates a <G protein>? Locating the binding pocket, connecting loops and contacts between <alpha helices> constrained possible mechanisms. The measured inactive-state structure supplied a starting configuration for testing those mechanisms; it did not by itself record the complete time-dependent activation process.<Crystal Structure of Rhodopsin: A G Protein-Coupled Receptor by Krzysztof Palczewski and others>[Abstract and Figures 2–3: retinal environment, transmembrane organization and cytoplasmic interactions]{ref}
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