Structure of nerve growth factor complexed with the shared neurotrophin receptor p75

The Garcia team at Stanford University put their DAWN instrument to work in order to help confirm that NGF homodimers and other NT dimers bind to only one neurotrophin receptor p75 in solution. In order to ensure that the 2:1 NGF/p75 stoichiometry isn't an artifact of crystallization, they measured the ligand:receptor stoichiometry and the assembly thermodynamics of p75 complexes in solution with NGF, NT-3, and NT-4/5. MALS and SEC of p75 alone revealed it to be a mixture of a higher and lower molar mass species determined dimer and monomer of 55.1 and 27.0 kDa respectively.

He, X.-L.; Garcia, K. C. Science  2004, 304, 870-875. DOI: 10.3410/f.1018909.215495