Crystal structure of the ectodomain of human transferrin receptor.
Lawrence, C.M., Ray, S., Babyonyshev, M., Galluser, R., Borhani, D.W., Harrison, S.C.(1999) Science 286: 779-782
- PubMed: 10531064 
- DOI: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.286.5440.779
- Primary Citation of Related Structures:  
1CX8 - PubMed Abstract: 
The transferrin receptor (TfR) undergoes multiple rounds of clathrin-mediated endocytosis and reemergence at the cell surface, importing iron-loaded transferrin (Tf) and recycling apotransferrin after discharge of iron in the endosome. The crystal structure of the dimeric ectodomain of the human TfR, determined here to 3.2 angstroms resolution, reveals a three-domain subunit. One domain closely resembles carboxy- and aminopeptidases, and features of membrane glutamate carboxypeptidase can be deduced from the TfR structure. A model is proposed for Tf binding to the receptor.
Organizational Affiliation: 
Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Children's Hospital Laboratory of Molecular Medicine, 320 Longwood Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA.