Tuesday, July 08, 2008
Proteins play a critical role in diseases and the growth processes of living organisms. Previously, high-throughput identification was only feasible if the genome of the organism in question had been identified. The research group led by Albert Heck at Utrecht University recently introduced a method to rapidly identify the proteins of organisms with an unknown genome. In addition, their method renders research of proteins undergoing modifications much more effective.
Albert Heck, scientific director of the Netherlands Proteomics Centre:
“In order to identify proteins that play an important role in biological processes, proteins are typically cleaved into peptides and analysed using a mass spectrometer. The measurements produce a unique ‘fingerprint’ for each peptide. A protein can then be identified by comparing this fingerprint with a genome database. We discovered an enzyme from the Japanese Grifola frondosa mushroom that cleaves the proteins in such a way that the peptides produce much more simplified fingerprints. As a result, the proteins can be identified even though the organism’s genome has not been mapped out. This simplifies protein identification by a factor of more than a hundred. It also makes protein research into diseases such as cancer or diabetes, where protein modifications are pivotal, a lot easier.”
The study was completed a year ago. Heck: “We were thrilled - but had to keep our lips sealed until the patent was secured. Recently, we presented our results at an international conference and published them in Nature Methods. It caused quite a stir. We are currently testing our method on a larger scale. Three to four new publications are already underway. In addition, a number of companies have opened negotiations with us about licensing our technology. We are excited about the possibilities.”