GoKawiilCryo-EM reveals eight structures of human UGCG enzyme and primate-specific regulation
Researchers solved eight cryo-EM structures of human UGCG, the enzyme that gatekeeps glycosphingolipid synthesis, capturing it alone and bound to substrates, products and the drugs miglustat, ibiglustat and eliglustat. The team also ran molecular dynamics simulations and a cross-species sequence comparison spanning platypus, marsupials, elephants and other mammals to trace how UGCG regulation evolved, finding features unique to primates. All structural data, simulation files and sequences have been deposited in public repositories.