• Popular
    • Medicine
    • Radiology
    • Cardiology
    • Surgery
    • Nanomedicine
    • Military Medicine
    • Rehab
  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS
  • Submit PR
  • Log in
Medgadget
Medgadget
  • Popular
    • Medicine
      Urine Test for Parkinson’s Disease

      Urine Test for Parkinson’s Disease

      Investigating Bacterial Motion for New Treatment Strategies

      Investigating Bacterial Motion for New Treatment Strategies

      Smart Sutures Sense Inflammation, Deliver Drugs, Cells

      Smart Sutures Sense Inflammation, Deliver Drugs, Cells

      siRNA as a COVID-19 Treatment

      siRNA as a COVID-19 Treatment

    • Radiology
      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

      Implanted Ultrasound Lets Chemo Access Brain

      Implanted Ultrasound Lets Chemo Access Brain

      Wearable Ultrasound Measures Tissue Stiffness Under Skin

      Wearable Ultrasound Measures Tissue Stiffness Under Skin

      Brain Decoder Spells Out Thoughts

      Brain Decoder Spells Out Thoughts

    • Cardiology
      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

      Wearable Ultrasound for Deep Tissue Monitoring

      Pencil-on-Paper Wearable Sensor

      Pencil-on-Paper Wearable Sensor

      Cell Culture Chamber Mimics Mechanical States of Disease

      Cell Culture Chamber Mimics Mechanical States of Disease

      Chest Wearable Provides Key Heart Measurements

      Chest Wearable Provides Key Heart Measurements

    • Surgery
      Smart Sutures Sense Inflammation, Deliver Drugs, Cells

      Smart Sutures Sense Inflammation, Deliver Drugs, Cells

      Automated Computer Assistant for Kidney Transplant Rejection Diagnostics: Interview with Study Authors

      Automated Computer Assistant for Kidney Transplant Rejection Diagnostics: Interview with Study Authors

      Soft Robotic Electrode Enables Minimally Invasive Placement

      Soft Robotic Electrode Enables Minimally Invasive Placement

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

    • Nanomedicine
      Bottlebrush Nanoparticles Deliver Immunostimulatory Drugs

      Bottlebrush Nanoparticles Deliver Immunostimulatory Drugs

      Nanoparticles Deliver mRNA Therapy to the Lungs

      Nanoparticles Deliver mRNA Therapy to the Lungs

      Nanoparticles Get Lymphatic Vessels Pumping

      Nanoparticles Get Lymphatic Vessels Pumping

      Bottlebrush Particle for Synergistic Drug Combinations

      Bottlebrush Particle for Synergistic Drug Combinations

    • Military Medicine
      Wearable Can Take Multiple Sweat Samples

      Wearable Can Take Multiple Sweat Samples

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

      Wound Dressing Detects Infection, Changes Color

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Device Measures Hemoglobin More Accurately in Dark Skin

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

      Fingertip Sensor Measures Lithium Levels in Sweat

    • Rehab
      Temperature Feedback for Prosthetic Limbs

      Temperature Feedback for Prosthetic Limbs

      Brain Decoder Spells Out Thoughts

      Brain Decoder Spells Out Thoughts

      Knitted Glove Massages the Hand to Treat Edema

      Knitted Glove Massages the Hand to Treat Edema

      Empowering Stroke Survivors: Interview with Kirsten Carroll, CEO at Kandu Health

      Empowering Stroke Survivors: Interview with Kirsten Carroll, CEO at Kandu Health

  • Categories
    • Exclusive
    • A-D
      • Anesthesiology
      • Art
      • Cardiac Surgery
      • Cardiology
      • Critical Care
      • Dentistry
      • Dermatology
      • Diagnostics
    • E-I
      • Emergency Medicine
      • ENT
      • Genetics
      • Geriatrics
      • GI
      • Informatics
    • M-N
      • Medicine
      • Military Medicine
      • Nanomedicine
      • Net News
      • Neurology
      • Neurosurgery
      • Nuclear Medicine
    • O-P
      • Ob/Gyn
      • Oncology
      • Ophthalmology
      • Orthopedic Surgery
      • Pathology
      • Pediatrics
      • Plastic Surgery
      • Psychiatry
      • Public Health
    • R-V
      • Radiation Oncology
      • Radiology
      • Rehab
      • Reproductive Medicine
      • Space Medicine
      • Sports Medicine
      • Surgery
      • Thoracic Surgery
      • Urology
      • Vascular Surgery
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • Submit PR
  • About
  • Log in
  • Submit PR
  • Follow
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Linkedin
    • Youtube
    • Instagram
    • RSS

Understanding Protein Interactions: A Novel Approach

May 22nd, 2006 Medgadget Editors News

The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI)is reporting that investigators from Baylor College of Medicine and Harvard Medical School have devised a novel new way to study interactions of proteins in neurons from patients with ataxia. Howard Hughes Medical Institute scientist Huda Y. Zoghbi and her colleagues reported results of protein interactions (dubbed by HHMI an “interactome” project) in an article in the latest issue of the journal Cell.

To map the interaction of proteins involved in the ataxias, the researchers started with 54 proteins that were either directly involved in known diseases, or that were associated with those causative proteins. The researchers then screened those proteins for interactions with proteins produced by two huge libraries of human genes, including one library of genes specifically associated with the brain.
To detect these interactions, the researchers used the yeast two-hybrid assay–a technique invented by HHMI researcher Stanley Fields at the University of Washington. The assay involves attaching proteins to either of two separated components of a protein known as a transcription factor that switches on a telltale marker gene inside yeast cells. If the two proteins interact within the yeast cells, the transcription factor components are brought together, and the marker gene is activated.
The researchers’ screening revealed some 770 interactions between the ataxia proteins and those in the libraries. According to Zoghbi, the vast majority of these interactions had never been detected by researchers before. To test the validity of these findings, the researchers directly determined whether a sample of these interactions actually occurred in mammalian cells. Those experiments showed that more than 80 percent were valid interactions in cells. What’s more, when they explored the scientific literature for known interactions between the proteins they had identified, they found 4,796 additional protein-protein interactions.
The protein interaction network has already given the researchers insight into the function of the disease-related proteins, said Zoghbi. She and her colleagues found that many of the proteins on their map were involved in RNA transcription and processing and protein degradation. “That finding tells us these are processes that are probably very important for Purkinje cell integrity and that somehow perturbance of these processes is responsible for their degeneration,” said Zoghbi.
Another key finding, said Zoghbi, was that certain proteins seemed to be “hub” proteins in the networks – interacting with many other proteins. Studying these hub proteins could yield insight into both the basic workings of Purkinje cells, which are important to the part of the brain that integrates sensory input with motor ouput, and how the many ataxia-causing proteins cause the common pathologies that destroy them. Understanding the function of the hub proteins could yield basic insight into the machinery of Purkinje cells, she said.
Importantly, said Zoghbi, the researchers found that that many proteins that animal studies had indicated either aggravate or reduce the effects of ataxia proteins showed direct physical interactions with the disease proteins in their interaction map. Identification of these genetic modifiers is important, said Zoghbi, because they might prove effective targets for drugs to treat ataxias. “Such findings can enable us to prioritize which modifiers we should be studying,” she said. “Perhaps if we study these direct interactors, we can identify the processes that are directly impacted by the mutation and learn to affect them with drugs.”
Overall, said Zoghbi, the ataxia protein-protein interaction network will enable a far more strategic approach to studying the diseases. The technique of starting with known disease-causing proteins and developing interaction networks could yield invaluable insights into such disorders as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, and hypertension.

The press release…
The press release at Baylor…

Medgadget Editors

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

Sponsored

Packaging Compliance Labs (PCL) Celebrates Site Expansion in Grand Rapids, MI

Novel Approach to Assessing Lung Function Enables Improved Detection, Diagnosis and Treatment Decisions in Subject Exposed to Military Burn Pits

U.S. Patent Office Grants Additional Patent Protection For  Exoskeleton Focal-Force Angioplasty Platform

U.S. Patent Office Grants Additional Patent Protection For Exoskeleton Focal-Force Angioplasty Platform

Reliefband® State of Nausea Study Reveals More Than Three-Quarters of Americans Are Prevented from Enjoying Life As a Result of Regular Nausea

Reliefband® State of Nausea Study Reveals More Than Three-Quarters of Americans Are Prevented from Enjoying Life As a Result of Regular Nausea

New AI-Powered Voice Controls Streamline Ultrasound Imaging with All Clarius Handheld Systems

New AI-Powered Voice Controls Streamline Ultrasound Imaging with All Clarius Handheld Systems

interviews & reviews
Automated Computer Assistant for Kidney Transplant Rejection Diagnostics: Interview with Study Authors

Automated Computer Assistant for Kidney Transplant Rejection Diagnostics: Interview with Study Authors

RF Technology for Health Monitoring: Michael Leabman, CTO of Movano Health

RF Technology for Health Monitoring: Michael Leabman, CTO of Movano Health

AI’s role in Healthcare: Exclusive Interview with Catherine Estrampes, President & CEO at GE Healthcare

AI’s role in Healthcare: Exclusive Interview with Catherine Estrampes, President & CEO at GE Healthcare

Digital Self-Neuromodulation Therapy for PTSD: Interview with Oded Kraft, CEO of GrayMatters Health

Digital Self-Neuromodulation Therapy for PTSD: Interview with Oded Kraft, CEO of GrayMatters Health

Levels Is Making Metabolism and Blood Glucose Tracking Accessible To Everyone

Levels Is Making Metabolism and Blood Glucose Tracking Accessible To Everyone

Imagene Profiles Cancer Biomarkers in Real Time

Imagene Profiles Cancer Biomarkers in Real Time

Empowering Stroke Survivors: Interview with Kirsten Carroll, CEO at Kandu Health

Empowering Stroke Survivors: Interview with Kirsten Carroll, CEO at Kandu Health

  • Subscribe
  • Contact us
  • Submit
  • About
  • Back to top
Medgadget

Medical technologies transform the world! Join us and see the progress in real time. At Medgadget, we report the latest technology news, interview leaders in the field, and file dispatches from medical events around the world since 2004.

  • About
  • Editorial policies
  • Contact
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy
  • Submit press release
  • Advertise
© Medgadget, Inc. All rights reserved. | The Medical Revolution Will Be Blogged.
Please support this website by adding us to your whitelist in your ad blocker. Ads are what helps us bring you premium content! Thank you!
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Reddit
  • Email