PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

New approach will help identify drugs that can 'glue' proteins together

2021-07-07
(Press-News.org) A new screening method that can test the effectiveness of therapeutic molecules designed to 'glue' proteins together in the body has been developed by researchers at the University of Birmingham and the University of Leicester.

The research paves the way for drug developers to screen large numbers of potential new drug compounds to discover new treatments for diseases such as breast cancer and Parkinson's disease.

The ways in which proteins interact with each other are fundamental to all cell functions. These interactions underpin every function of a healthy body, with any slight change in these interactions resulting in disease.

A handful of drugs have been designed that can break apart these interactions, and this serves to disrupt the progress of the disease. However, in some diseases, the problem is caused by protein interactions not happening, or not happening in the right way. So new drugs that work by 'gluing' these proteins together would be highly effective, but finding them is not straightforward.

In this study, Chemical Science, researchers in the University of Birmingham's School of Biosciences have designed a system that uses mass spectrometry to measure the precise mass of a pair of proteins, plus the 'glue', to identify which 'glue' is the strongest and thus will likely be the most successful in treating the disease.

Lead author Dr Aneika Leney said: "A healthy body depends very much on the cells' proteins being able to signal effectively. Any wrong signal can lead to disease and that could be the wrong proteins sticking together - or proteins not joining up as they should. We want a drug that corrects for this. Our methods provides a 'snapshot' of what is happening to the proteins when we add a potential drug so we can see quickly whether the 'glue' is working"

The team worked with chemical biologists at the University of Leicester to test the method on therapeutic compounds being studied by co-lead author Dr Richard Doveston and his team.

Dr Doveston says: Looking for molecules that act as glues is not easy because things are complicated by having two proteins in the mix. At the early stage of development we often just want to find molecules that are good starting points for development, so they might not be that good as glues at this stage. The current high-throughput screening methods available to us are usually not very effective in this context. The mass spectrometry method is great because we can learn so much from the data and it can be gathered relatively easily and quickly.

Because the glue compounds are highly specific to the identified proteins, interactions with other proteins are rare, so the therapy is unlikely to produce any unlooked-for effects."

Dr Leney adds: "We hope our approach will be taken up by pharmaceutical companies and used to rapidly screen and test promising drug compounds that can bind proteins together to deliver a therapeutic benefit."

INFORMATION:

This research is published in Chemical Science, the Royal Society of Chemistry's peer-reviewed flagship journal, and is free to read.

Notes to editor:

* The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world's top 100 institutions. Its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers, teachers and more than 6,500 international students from over 150 countries. * The University of Leicester is a leading UK university committed to international excellence through the creation of world changing research and high quality, inspirational teaching. Leicester is consistently one of the most socially inclusive of the UK's leading universities with a long-standing commitment to providing fairer and equal access to higher education.

* Royal Society of Chemistry The Royal Society of Chemistry is the world's leading chemistry community, advancing excellence in the chemical sciences. With over 54,000 members and a knowledge business that spans the globe, we are the UK's professional body for chemical scientists; a not-for-profit organisation with over 175 years of history and an international vision for the future. We promote, support and celebrate chemistry. We work to shape the future of the chemical sciences - for the benefit of science and humanity. Find out more at http://www.rsc.org

Chemical Science Chemical Science is the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry and publishes findings of exceptional significance from across the chemical sciences. It is a global, peer-reviewed journal for the discovery and reporting of breakthroughs in basic chemical research, communicated to a worldwide audience without barriers, through open access. All article publication charges have been waived, meaning that the journal is free to read and free to publish. Find out more at rsc.li/chemical-science

ChemSci Pick of the Week Each week the Royal Society of Chemistry is releasing one embargoed story from their flagship journal Chemical Science, highlighting the cutting-edge work they publish. If you wish to be added to the distribution list, please email pressoffice@rsc.org Follow #ChemSciPicks on Twitter.

* Doveston, Leney et al (2021). 'Discovering protein-protein interaction stabilisers by native mass spectrometry.' Chemical Science



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Rare genetic variants confer largest increase in type 2 diabetes risk seen to date

2021-07-07
Scientists at the University of Cambridge have identified rare genetic variants - carried by one in 3,000 people - that have a larger impact on the risk of developing type 2 diabetes than any previously identified genetic effect. Type 2 diabetes is thought to be driven in part by inherited genetic factors, but many of these genes are yet unknown. Previous large-scale studies have depended on efficient 'array genotyping' methods to measure genetic variations across the whole genome. This approach typically does a good job at capturing the common genetic differences between people, though individually these each confer only small increases in diabetes ...

Viruses are the most common cause of myocarditis in children, experts offer guidance

2021-07-07
DALLAS, July 7, 2021 -- Myocarditis in children is a rare yet challenging condition to treat. Diagnosis and treatment includes multiple options, and many cases of myocarditis resolve on their own, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association, "Diagnosis and Management of Myocarditis in Children," published today in Circulation, the Association's flagship journal. The scientific statement writing group reviewed the latest research to develop guidance in diagnosis and treatment for myocarditis in children. Myocarditis is inflammation of the middle layer of the wall of the heart muscle, the myocardium, and it ...

New method lets researchers rapidly monitor snow leopard stress levels in the wild

2021-07-07
The newly developed method lets researchers rapidly and accurately measure stress hormones in snow leopards without the need for bulky equipment or specialised knowledge. It uses widely available equipment that can be carried into the field, allowing hormone extraction from faecal samples and analysis to be done on site. This differs from existing approaches to hormone monitoring in wild animals, where faecal samples must be taken to laboratories for hormone extraction and analysis. These approaches are particularly limiting in remote locations, such as the Himalayas. "Because conventional hormone monitoring methods require frozen and refrigerated chemical reagents, and laboratory equipment, it is almost impossible to use them on-site." explained ...

Could a longer reproductive period put women at greater risk for Alzheimer disease?

2021-07-07
CLEVELAND, Ohio (July 7, 2021)--Estrogen has been thought to play a role in a woman's risk of developing Alzheimer disease (AD). A new study has taken a different approach to identifying risk factors for AD by examining the association between a woman's reproductive life span as an indicator of endogenous estrogen exposure and levels of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers. Study results are published online in Menopause, the journal of The North American Menopause Society (NAMS). Alzheimer disease represents 60% to 70% of all dementia diagnoses, making it the most common form of dementia. Approximately ...

Gender pay gap means fewer female candidates on the ballot

2021-07-07
A new study in the Journal of the European Economic Association, published by Oxford University Press, finds that electoral districts with a larger gender pay gaps show favoritism toward male political candidates in Parliamentary elections, with fewer female candidates on the ballot. The researchers here gathered data for seven parliamentary elections in France between 1988 and 2017. Researchers studied candidates from the Left and Right political coalitions, which account for 80% of elected members of Parliament. The researchers consulted administrative and web data on candidates and electoral outcomes, survey data on ...

Oncotarget: miRNA signatures from epidermal growth factor inhibitor patients

Oncotarget: miRNA signatures from epidermal growth factor inhibitor patients
2021-07-07
Oncotarget published "Association between miRNA signatures in serum samples from epidermal growth factor inhibitor treated patients and skin toxicity" which reported that on average 70% of patients treated with EGFRIs suffer from skin toxicity. Studies showed a correlation between overall survival and the appearance of a skin rash, which is used as a biomarker for therapy efficacy. In this study, the authors searched for associations of miRNA expression profiles in serum, with the severity of skin rash, in order to identify tentative therapy predictive biomarkers. In this cohort of patients treated with EGFR inhibiting monoclonal antibodies, miR-21 and miR-520e serum concentrations were negatively correlated with severity of skin rash whereas for miR-31, a positive correlation was ...

Transformation of controller software to ensure safe behavior under perceptual uncertainty

Transformation of controller software to ensure safe behavior under perceptual uncertainty
2021-07-07
A research team consisting of Tsutomu Kobayashi, Ichiro Hasuo, Fuyuki Ishikawa, and Shinya Katsumata at the National Institute of Informatics (NII, Japan) and Rick Salay and Krzysztof Czarnecki at University of Waterloo (Canada) developed a method that automatically transforms models of controller software into models that satisfy safety requirements even when there is uncertainty in sensing the state of the environment. In addition to the transformation, the method generates formulas that represent the degree of uncertainty that the controller software can tolerate. The method can be applied to various controller systems that interact with the external environment, ...

Why wild African fruits can supplement low protein staple foods

2021-07-07
In the line-up of wild African fruits, the marula is the best known. For thousands of years, people have depended on the trees for food, medicines, and more. It is also exported globally as the rockstar ingredient of a cream liqueur. The fruit is a success story far beyond the savannas and bushveld where the trees grow. But there is a whole choir of other wild, indigenous fruits in Southern Africa. And some exceed daily nutritional values recommended by the WHO and others. Research from the University of Johannesburg uncovers a variety of building blocks for protein in the fruit of 14 species. Several are analyzed for ...

New model accurately predicts how coasts will be impacted by storms and sea-level rise

New model accurately predicts how coasts will be impacted by storms and sea-level rise
2021-07-07
Coastal communities across the world are increasingly facing up to the huge threats posed by a combination of extreme storms and predicted rises in sea levels as a result of global climate change. However, scientists at the University of Plymouth have developed a simple algorithm-based model which accurately predicts how coastlines could be affected and - as a result - enables communities to identify the actions they might need to take in order to adapt. The Forecasting Coastal Evolution (ForCE) model has the potential to be a game-changing advance in coastal evolution science, allowing adaptations in the shoreline to be predicted over timescales of anything from days to decades and beyond. This broad range of timescales means that the model is capable of predicting ...

Brain functional connectivity in Tourette syndrome

2021-07-07
Philadelphia, July 7, 2021 - Tourette syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, causes motor and phonic "tics" or uncontrollable repeated behaviors and vocalizations. People affected by Tourette syndrome can often suppress these tics for some time before the urges become overwhelming, and researchers have long wondered at the neural underpinnings of the suppression effort. Now, in a new study using a non-invasive technique to measure brain activity called high-density electroencephalography (hdEEG), researchers at Yale School of Medicine have assessed the impact of tic suppression on functional ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Molecular Frontiers Symposium in Hong Kong “Frontiers of New Knowledge in Science”

Scientists reveal strigolactone perception mechanism and role in tillering responses to nitrogen

Increasing trend of overweight and obesity among Japanese patients with incident end-stage kidney disease

An extra five minutes of exercise per day could help to lower blood pressure

Five minutes of exercise a day could lower blood pressure

Social media likes and comments linked to young men’s obsession with perfect pecs and a six-pack

$2.1M aids researchers in building chemical sensors to safeguard troops

Climate change parching the American West even without rainfall deficits

Power grids supplied largely by renewable sources experience lower intensity blackouts

Scientists calculate predictions for meson measurements

Mayo Clinic researchers recommend alternatives to hysterectomy for uterine fibroids, according to study

Using a fan and wetting the skin reduces risk of deadly cardiac strain in hot and humid weather

Very early medication abortion is effective and safe

Sleepiness during the day may be tied to pre-dementia syndrome

Research Spotlight: Higher brain care score found to improve brain health regardless of genetic risk

Variation in the measurement of sexual orientations is associated with sexual orientation-related mental health disparities

Study shows how high blood sugar increases risk of thrombosis

Cachexia decoded: Why diagnosis matters in cancer survival

Transportation institute awarded nearly $1 million in trucking education grants

Sewage surveillance proves powerful in combating antimicrobial resistance

Natural environment is declining: are companies doing their part to save it?

New study sheds light on the role of sound and music in gendered toy marketing

Pathogens which cling to microplastics may survive wastewater treatment

Effects of preterm birth extend into adulthood, study finds

Salmon frequently mislabeled in Seattle grocery stores and sushi restaurants

15,800-year-old engraved plaquettes from modern-day Germany depict fishing techniques, including the use of nets, not previously known in the Upper Paleolithic

How plants evolved multiple ways to override genetic instructions

Nasal swab tests predict COVID-19 disease severity, Emory study finds

'Shallow' sports and 'deep' social hierarchies: Not all pecking orders are created equal

New PFAs testing method created at UMass Amherst

[Press-News.org] New approach will help identify drugs that can 'glue' proteins together