A pentamer is an entity composed of five sub-units. In chemistry, it applies to molecules made of five

monomer In chemistry, a monomer ( ; ''mono-'', "one" + '' -mer'', "part") is a molecule that can react together with other monomer molecules to form a larger polymer chain or three-dimensional network in a process called polymerization. Classification Mo ...

s. In biochemistry, it applies to macromolecules, in particular to

pentameric protein A pentameric protein is a quaternary protein structure that consists of five protein subunits. Examples Ligand-gated ion channels Five sub-units come together to form a channel. Each channel consist of two alpha chain, one beta, one gamma and o ...

s, made of five proteic sub-units. In microbiology, a pentamer is one of the proteins composing the polyhedral protein shell that encloses the bacterial micro-compartments known as

carboxysome Carboxysomes are bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) consisting of polyhedral protein shells filled with the enzymes ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (RuBisCO)—the predominant enzyme in carbon fixation and the rate limiting e ...

s. In immunology, an MHC pentamer is a reagent used to detect antigen-specific CD8+

T cell A T cell is a type of lymphocyte. T cells are one of the important white blood cells of the immune system and play a central role in the adaptive immune response. T cells can be distinguished from other lymphocytes by the presence of a T-cell r ...

See also