Protein Folding News and Research

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Elucidating IDP behaviour on crowded membranes

IDPs are proteins that contain stretches of amino-acid sequence that are flexible and do not comprise stable structure in isolation. This is in contrast with a more traditional view of proteins as largely occupying a stable native structure that correlates with functions such as enzyme activity or binding.

10 Nov 2016

BGU researchers elucidate molecular mechanism that could lead to new therapies for ALS

Researchers from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have published a new study that describes a novel molecular mechanism that could lead to the development of new therapies for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS).

4 Oct 2016

Rare genetic variations linked to severe porphyria

An international research team has linked rare variations in a cell membrane protein to the wide variation in symptom severity that is a hallmark of porphyria, a rare disorder that often affects the skin, liver and nervous system.

10 Aug 2016

Mutant fruit flies provide insight into origins of Parkinson's disease

The neurodegeneration that occurs in Parkinson’s disease is a result of stress on the endoplasmic reticulum in the cell rather than failure of the mitochondria as previously thought, according to a study in fruit flies.

24 Jun 2016

Researchers reveal novel mechanism of smoke induced collapse of protein homeostasis in COPD

Few threats to public health are as perilous as cigarette smoking, with more than 435,000 Americans dying each year of tobacco-related pulmonary illnesses such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

22 Jun 2016

Understanding structure of HIV-1 protease vital to development of next-generation HIV drugs

HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, has become one of the world’s most serious health and development challenges.

24 May 2016

Advanced assay offers better sensitivity for detecting a prion disease affecting elk

Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs), or prion diseases, are a family of rare progressive, neurodegenerative illnesses that affect both humans and animals. TSE surveillance is important for public health and food safety because TSEs have the potential of crossing from animals to humans, as seen with the spread of mad cow disease, or bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). A study in The Journal of Molecular Diagnostics describes an advanced assay that offers better sensitivity than currently available tests for detecting a prion disease affecting elk.

11 Apr 2016

Unlocking intrinsically disordered proteins: an interview with Peter Wright

I'm a professor in the Department of Integrative Structural and Computational Biology at The Scripps Research Institute. I have been performing NMR research on proteins for nearly 40 years.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 11 Feb 2016

Researchers trace origins of early abnormal brain overgrowth in ASD

Further underscoring the prenatal origins of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine describe for the first time how abnormal gene activity in cell cycle networks that are known to control brain cell production may underlie abnormal early brain growth in the disorder.

14 Dec 2015

Scientists propose that Alzheimer's disease should be treated separately

Deciphering the mechanism that underlies the development of Alzheimer's disease in certain families but not in others, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Faculty of Medicine have proposed that the malady is actually a collection of diseases that probably should be treated with a variety of different approaches.

4 Nov 2015

OSU discovery sheds new light on how proteins fold

Biochemists at Oregon State University have made a fundamental discovery about protein structure that sheds new light on how proteins fold, which is one of the most basic processes of life.

19 Oct 2015

New COMPASS platform points directly to protein's likely structure

Searching for the precise, complexly folded three-dimensional structure of a protein can be like hacking through a jungle without a map: a long, intensive process with uncertain direction.

16 Oct 2015

Two researchers awarded NIH's New Innovator and Early Independence Awards

Two researchers, Martin Jonikas of Carnegie's Department of Plant Biology and Zhao Zhang of the Department of Embryology, have been awarded the New Innovator and Early Independence Awards, respectively, from the National Institutes of Health.

7 Oct 2015

UT Southwestern researchers find a previously unknown genetic code

UT Southwestern physiologists trying to understand the genetic code have found a previously unknown code that helps explain which protein should be created to form a particular type of cell.

24 Sep 2015

Redox equilibrium may help identify new diagnostic biomarkers for ageing, neurodegenerative processes

The question of why we age is one of the most fascinating questions for humankind, but nothing close to a satisfactory answer has been found to date.

3 Aug 2015

Two-drug combination improves lung function in some cystic fibrosis patients

The combination of two drugs — an investigational drug used in conjunction with an already FDA-approved medication — improved lung function in patients with one form of cystic fibrosis, according to two new studies.

19 May 2015

Study reveals how cell's protein quality control mechanism helps combat neurodegenerative diseases

A molecular pathway known to suppress tumors appears to also be a major player in clearing cells of damaged proteins implicated in neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS and certain types of dementia, new research in roundworms and human cells suggests.

6 Apr 2015

UCSF professor wins Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science

Peter Walter was chosen as winner of the Vilcek Prize in Biomedical Science for his pioneering work on how proteins are transported between cellular compartments and for unraveling the components of a regulatory mechanism that cells use to handle stress tied to the aggregation of misshapen proteins.

29 Mar 2015

Viagra can have anti-cancer, anti-Alzheimer's disease effects if used with new drugs

Chaperone proteins play an important role in protein folding in human cells and in bacteria and are promising new targets for drugs to treat cancer and Alzheimer's disease and for novel antiviral drugs and antibiotics. How existing drugs such as Viagra or Cialis and a derivative of the drug Celebrex, for example, can reduce the activity of a specific chaperone protein, with the potential for anti-tumor and anti-Alzheimer's disease effects, is described in a Review article in DNA and Cell Biology, a peer-reviewed journal from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers.

10 Mar 2015

Applying NMR to biological problems: an interview with Professor Arthur Palmer

Our current focus is on areas in protein folding, molecular recognition by proteins and also enzyme catalysis. NMR spin relaxation is one of the very powerful techniques in NMR for studying conformational dynamics in proteins or chemical kinetic processes.

From Bruker BioSpin Group 17 Feb 2015