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Updated: May 29, 2026
11:57
Studying Protein Function and the Role of Altered Protein Expression by Antibody Interference and Three-dimensional Reconstructions
Published on: April 21, 2016
A protein therapeutic modality founded on molecular regulation
Chapman M Wright1, R Clay Wright, James R Eshleman
1Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA.
Summary
Scientists developed a new way to make protein drugs that activate only when they find specific cancer markers. This targeted approach uses a synthetic biology strategy to kill cancer cells while sparing healthy ones.
Area of Science:
- Biotechnology
- Synthetic Biology
- Oncology
Background:
- Protein specificity is crucial for anticancer therapies.
- The potential of environment-regulated protein therapeutics remains largely unexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop a synthetic biology platform for creating protein therapeutics with autonomous environmental activation.
- To design a prodrug-activating enzyme that targets cancer cells expressing hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α).
Main Methods:
- Engineered a synthetic biology strategy for protein therapeutics.
- Developed a prodrug-activating enzyme.
- Demonstrated selective cancer cell killing based on HIF-1α marker accumulation.
Main Results:
- Created a protein therapeutic that autonomously activates its function.
- Achieved selective killing of human cancer cells accumulating HIF-1α.
- Observed increased enzyme accumulation in the presence of the HIF-1α marker.
Conclusions:
- The synthetic biology strategy enables the development of inherently selective protein therapeutics.
- This approach offers a platform for targeting cancer and other diseases with greater precision.
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Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
02:58Regulated Protein Degradation
It is vital to regulate the activity of enzymatic as well as non-enzymatic proteins inside the cell. This can be achieved either through creating a balance between their rate of synthesis and degradation or regulating the intrinsic activity of the protein. Both these regulation mechanisms play an essential role in the normal functioning of cells.
Protein degradation plays two important roles in the cells. It helps to protect cells from misfolded or damaged proteins before they lead to a...
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The gene expression in cells is regulated at different stages: (i) transcription, (ii) RNA processing, (iii) RNA localization, and (iv) translation. Transcriptional regulation is mediated by regulatory proteins such as transcription factors, activators, or repressors—these control gene expression by initiating or inhibiting the transcription of genes. Once a precursor or pre-mRNA is produced, it undergoes post-transcriptional modification, including 5' capping, splicing, and the addition of a...
02:24Regulation of Expression Occurs at Multiple Steps
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Transcription results in the generation of precursor (pre-mRNA) that consists of both exons and introns, which needs further processing before being translated to a...
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02:04Covalently Linked Protein Regulators
Proteins can undergo many types of post-translational modifications, often in response to changes in their environment. These modifications play an important role in the function and stability of these proteins. Covalently linked molecules include functional groups, such as methyl, acetyl, and phosphate groups, and also small proteins, such as ubiquitin. There are around 200 different types of covalent regulators that have been identified.
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.
These groups modify specific amino acids in a protein.