EF hand

Calmodulin with four EF hand motifs. Ca ²⁺ : blue, alpha-helices: orange, beta-sheets: green

An EF hand is a specific amino acid motif in proteins . The motif is a so-called helix-loop-helix motif with charged amino acids that bind Ca ²⁺ ions. Due to the binding of calcium , the conformation of the protein changes and can therefore also change its function. The name EF-Hand comes from the nomenclature used in the investigation of parvalbumin , which has three EF-Hand motifs. EF-hand motifs are found among others in the signaling protein calmodulin and in the muscle protein troponin C .

Web links

• EF-Hand - Entry in the SMART database