Structural and functional insights on folate receptor α (FRα) by homology modeling, ligand docking and molecular dynamics

- The “in silico” 3D structure of folate receptor α is obtained by homology modeling.
- The expected network of 8 disulfide bridges of the receptor is successfully reproduced.
- The key structural determinants driving high affinity for folates analogs are suggested.
- The effect of some point mutation impairing folate binding is explained by this model.