Building a stage for interhelical play in rhodopsin

Biochemical data providing new insights into the packing of helices I and II in the transmembrane domain of rhodopsin reveals the existence of a specific set of size- and charge-sensitive interhelical interactions that influence protein tertiary structure. These findings have broad implications towards understanding the molecular consequences of naturally occurring mutations associated with the retinal degenerative disease autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa.