Professor Anthony North
BSc, PhD, London.
Emeritus Professor of Biophysics
Background: C.Phys., F.Inst.P. Secretary General for the International Union for Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB)
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You can read more about Professor North's interests here:
www.astbury.leeds.ac.uk/People/staffpage.php?StaffID=ACTN
Publications
List Professor North's Publications
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Research Interests
X-ray crystallography, Secretary General of the IUPAB
Structural Studies of Lipocalins: Structural studies have been concerned with the lipocalin family of proteins. Members of this family are involved in a wide range of biological phenomena, including the binding of pigments in insects and crustacea, the excretion of pheromones and the transport of vitamins and hormons in mammals. In collaboration with L. Sawyers group in Edinburgh, we have solved the structure of b-lactoglobulin. the major soluble protein from cows milk. The molecule is a dimer consisting of two identical subunits, each having the 8-stranded barrel typical of lipocalins. The b-barrel forms a pocket to transport a small, otherwise insoluble molecule (possibly vitamin A) from cow to calf.
The structures of two pheromone binding rodent urinary proteins, also members of the lipocalin family, have been solved recently. These proteins produced by male mice act as an attractant for females. A ribbon diagram of the mouse urinary protein is shown.