Rice research aims to reprogram the genetic code

Han Xiao awarded nearly $2M from National Institutes of Health

2024-07-03

(Press-News.org) Rice University chemist Han Xiao has been awarded nearly $2 million from the National Institutes of Health Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award (MIRA) program for established investigators.

All organisms with few exceptions use 20 standard amino acids to build proteins. Xiao’s research aims to reprogram the genetic code to precisely manipulate biological systems by using noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) with diverse properties to help build proteins. Researchers generally use ncAAs to investigate the structure and dynamics of proteins, but Xiao wants to take that a step further.

“This innovative approach could revolutionize how we understand and control cellular functions,” said Xiao, the Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator, associate professor of chemistry, director of Rice’s Synthesis X Center and a Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas Scholar.

Xiao will use the five-year grant to develop innovative cells capable of biosynthesizing and utilizing ncAAs and to explore their potential as in vivo sensors for enzymes involved in posttranslational modifications (PTMs).

PTMs are essential for regulating cell biology. The enzymes that add and remove PTMs, known as “writers” and “erasers,” play major roles in causing various diseases, including cancer and neurological disorders.

Current methods for detecting these enzyme activities, such as fluorescence analysis, western blot and mass spectrometry, are limited to laboratory settings. Xiao’s research seeks to develop ways to monitor these activities within living organisms.

“Our goal is to create eukaryotic cells that can produce proteins with PTM handles, enabling real-time monitoring of enzyme activities,” Xiao said.

These engineered cells could pave the way for new strategies in treating diseases by providing valuable insights into the effectiveness of epigenetic inhibitors in live subjects.

MIRA supports research in an investigator’s laboratory that falls within the mission of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS). The goal of MIRA is to increase the efficiency of NIGMS funding by providing investigators with greater stability and flexibility, thereby enhancing scientific productivity and the chances for important breakthroughs.

END

[Attachments] See images for this press release:

Rice research aims to reprogram the genetic code 2

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Home test reveals the risk of heart attack in five minutes

2024-07-03

Swedish researchers have created a questionnaire test for home use that quickly identifies high risk of heart attack. A study shows that it has the same level of accuracy as blood tests and blood pressure measurements. The study, published in Journal of the American Heart Association, uses data from the SCAPIS population study, which is based at the University of Gothenburg, with the Swedish Heart Lung Foundation as its main sponsor. The study was led by Göran Bergström, Professor of Clinical Physiology at Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg, senior ...

New tuberculosis vaccine results presented at FAPESP Week China

2024-07-03

Researchers from the Butantan Institute and collaborators are developing a more potent version of the BCG vaccine that protects against tuberculosis. While the conventional immunizer reduced infection by 90% in experiments with mice, the so-called recombinant BCG increased the protection rate to 99%. In addition, the new formulation protected the animals for a significantly longer period of time. “BCG is the first vaccine we receive at birth, and it’s indeed effective in protecting children. But immunity against the disease tends to wane in adulthood, and as bacteria are becoming resistant to antibiotics, no ...

Wastewater is a viable medium for growing lettuce in hydroponic systems, study shows

2024-07-03

URBANA, Ill. – Urban agriculture has the potential to improve food security through local, efficient, and sustainable food production. Examples of urban food systems include hydroponics, where plants grow in a nutrient solution without soil, and aquaponics, which combines hydroponics with raising fish in tanks. A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign examines the use of aquaponics wastewater as a growth medium for lettuce in a hydroponic system. This practice can potentially ...

Researchers capture never-before-seen view of gene transcription

2024-07-03

Every living cell transcribes DNA into RNA. This process begins when an enzyme called RNA polymerase (RNAP) clamps onto DNA. Within a few hundred milliseconds, the DNA double helix unwinds to form a node known as the transcription bubble, so that one exposed DNA strand can be copied into a complementary RNA strand. How RNAP accomplishes this feat is largely unknown. A snapshot of RNAP in the act of opening that bubble would provide a wealth of information, but the process happens too quickly for current technology to easily capture visualizations ...

Do genes-in-pieces code for proteins that fold in pieces?

2024-07-03

A new study led by Rice University’s Peter Wolynes offers new insights into the evolution of foldable proteins. The research was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Researchers at Rice and the University of Buenos Aires used energy landscape theory to distinguish between foldable and nonfoldable parts of protein sequences. Their study illuminates the ongoing debate about whether the pieces of DNA that code for only part of a protein during their origins can fold on their own. The researchers focused on the extensive relationship between exons in protein structures and the evolution of protein foldability. They highlighted ...

Can inflammation in early adulthood affect memory, thinking in middle age?

2024-07-03

MINNEAPOLIS – Having higher levels of inflammation in your 20s and 30s may be linked to having memory and thinking problems at middle age, according to a study published in the July 3, 2024, online issue of Neurology®, the medical journal of the American Academy of Neurology. The study looked at levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) in the blood. CRP is produced by the liver and increases when there is inflammation in the body. The study does not prove that having higher levels of this protein causes dementia. It only shows an association. There are two kinds of inflammation. Acute inflammation happens when the body’s immune response jumps into action to fight off infection or ...

Poor health, stress in 20s takes toll in 40s with lower cognition

2024-07-03

Higher inflammation in young adulthood linked to lower performance in skills testing in midlife. Young adults who have higher levels of inflammation, which is associated with obesity, physical inactivity, chronic illness, stress and smoking, may experience reduced cognitive function in midlife, a new study out of UC San Francisco has found. Researchers previously linked higher inflammation in older adults to dementia, but this is one of the first studies to connect inflammation in early adulthood with lower cognitive abilities in midlife. “We know from long-term studies that brain changes leading to Alzheimer’s ...

Scientists may have found how to diagnose elusive neuro disorder

2024-07-03

Progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), a mysterious and deadly neurological disorder, usually goes undiagnosed until after a patient dies and an autopsy is performed. But now, UC San Francisco researchers have found a way to identify the condition while patients are still alive. A study appearing in Neurology on July 3 has found a pattern in the spinal fluid of PSP patients, using a new high-throughput technology that can measure thousands of proteins in a tiny drop of fluid. Researchers ...

Cracking the code for cerebellar movement disorders

2024-07-03

The cerebellum is a region of the brain that helps us refine our movements and learn new motor skills. Patients and mouse models experience many kinds of abnormal movements when their cerebellum is damaged. They can have uncoordinated and unbalanced movements, called ataxia. They can have atypical positioning of body parts or uncontrolled movements because their muscles are working against each other, called dystonia. Or they can have disruptive shaky movements, called tremors. Understanding how changes in a single brain region ...

Stability indicating RP-HPLC method for the estimation of impurities in esomeprazole gastro-resistant tablets by AQbD approach

2024-07-03

https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.15212/bioi-2024-0018 Announcing a new article publication for BIO Integration journal. Esomeprazole (ESO) gastro-resistant tablets (40 mg) are sold under the brand name, Zosa, which effectively manages conditions associated with the overproduction of gastric acid, including peptic ulcer disease and Zollinger-Ellison syndrome. This article quantifies impurities in esomeprazole using advanced analytical techniques known as analytical quality by design with high-performance liquid chromatography. Buffer selection ...

Rice research aims to reprogram the genetic code

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: