Röntgenstrukturanalyse großer Biomoleküle

Crystallography is a powerful tool for the determination of three-dimensional structures of large biomolecules. In recent years, the number of published crystal structures has dramatically increased. this is due in part to the knowledge on the three-dimensional structure to the general understanding of biochemical processes is demonstrated for three selected examples. Crystal structures of human growth hormone bound to receptor peptides strongly suggests a general principle of receptor-mediated signal transduction. A self-splicing RNA nitron, seen in three dimensions, reveals general folding patterns in nucleic acids. Finally, HIV protease is discussed as a paradigm for structure-based drug design.