Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine Research on Actin-Related Protein Published in PNAS
Posted on: Tuesday, 23 January 2007, 12:00 CST
Mark Chance, Ph.D., Director, Case Center for Proteomics, Center for Synchrotron Biosciences and Professor, Department of Physiology and Biosciences at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, along with a team of national researchers, set a "world record" examining the largest molecule to date with the smallest amount of material. The research was conducted to better understand the role of actin-related protein (ARP) in a growing or changing cell. As a cell moves and grows, ARP expands the cells skeleton, called the cytoskeleton that provides the backbone of the changing cell.
The research team findings, [published in the Jan. 12, 2007 edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)], are based on the understanding that crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance, the traditional methods of examining protein structure, are not as effective on very large protein molecules. The research team used ground breaking "footprinting" technology, developed in Dr. Chance's laboratory, to view activated ARP in its native state. The team demonstrated that ARP re-arranges its protein subunits upon activation to allow the cytoskeleton to be extended.
"Technological advances in protein science are fundamental to the work of the proteomics center, and are critical to our mission of advancing human health," said Dr. Janna G. Kiselar, Assistant Director and Instructor, Case Center for Proteomics, and the lead author of the study.
Dr. Chance and his team are continuing their proteomics work on the cytoskeleton, identifying the role of many proteins responsible for human disease. "ARP molecules control both normal cell growth and can stimulate out of control growth, as in metastasis cancer cells," said Dr. Chance. "This technology development provides a detailed picture of how large molecules like ARP function as nano-machines in the cell. We can now see how these dynamics could be used to develop targeted therapeutics."
The Center for Proteomics and Mass Spectrometry at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine was established in 2005. The Case Proteomics Center [CPC] was created in part, to strengthen Cleveland's presence in modern proteomics and mass spectrometry research to make the region a leader in the field. For more information, visit www.casemed.case.edu/proteomics.
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and 12th largest among the nation's medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. Eleven Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the school.
The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching and in 2002, became the third medical school in history to receive a pre-eminent review from the national body responsible for accrediting the nation's academic medical institutions. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 600 M.D. and M.D./Ph.D. students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News and World Report Guide to Graduate Education.
The School of Medicine's primary clinical affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic Foundation, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. http://casemed.case.edu
Source: Business Wire
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