International Journal of Molecular Sciences Article Comparative Molecular Dynamics Investigation of the Electromotile Hearing Protein Prestin Gianfranco Abrusci 1,2,†, Thomas Tarenzi 1,3,†, Mattia Sturlese 4 , Gabriele Giachin 5 and Roberto Battistutta 5 and Gianluca Lattanzi 1,3,∗ 1 Department of Physics, University of Trento, Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy;
[email protected] (G.A.);
[email protected] (T.T.) 2 Cineca, Via Magnanelli 6/3, Casalecchio di Reno, 40033 Bologna, Italy 3 TIFPA-INFN, Via Sommarive 14, 38123 Trento, Italy 4 Department of Pharmaceutical and Pharmacological Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 5, 35131 Padova, Italy;
[email protected] 5 Department of Chemical Sciences, University of Padova, Via Marzolo 1, 35131 Padova, Italy;
[email protected] (G.G.);
[email protected] (R.B.) * Correspondence:
[email protected] † These authors contributed equally to this work. Abstract: The mammalian protein prestin is expressed in the lateral membrane wall of the cochlear hair outer cells and is responsible for the electromotile response of the basolateral membrane, following hyperpolarisation or depolarisation of the cells. Its impairment marks the onset of severe diseases, like non-syndromic deafness. Several studies have pointed out possible key roles of residues located in the Transmembrane Domain (TMD) that differentiate mammalian prestins as incomplete transporters from the other proteins belonging to the same solute-carrier (SLC) superfamily, which Citation: Abrusci, G.; Tarenzi, T.; are classified as complete transporters. Here, we exploit the homology of a prototypical incomplete Sturlese, M.; Giachin, G.; Battistutta, transporter (rat prestin, rPres) and a complete transporter (zebrafish prestin, zPres) with target R.; Lattanzi, G.