Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 12, 2025

Identification of Functional Protein Regions Through Chimeric Protein Construction
11:39

Identification of Functional Protein Regions Through Chimeric Protein Construction

Published on: January 8, 2019

10.4K

Evolutionary Sequences and Structural Information-driven Reconstruction of New Insulin-like Growth Factor-I Peptide

Nazam Khan1, Maryam Althobiti1, Raj Kumar Chinnadurai2

  • 1Department of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, College of Applied Medical Sciences, Shaqra University, Shaqra, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Current Molecular Medicine
|October 21, 2024
PubMed
Abstract

Insights

Researchers reconstructed ancestral Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) sequences to design novel peptide variants. This work advances understanding of IGF-I functionality for developing new anticancer agents.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Molecular Biology
  • Structural Biology

Background:

  • Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is vital for cell growth, proliferation, and apoptosis.
  • The IGF-I signaling pathway is implicated in various cancers, making IGF-1 receptor (IGF-1R) a therapeutic target.
  • IGF-1R activation promotes tumor cell growth and survival.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To reconstruct ancestral IGF-I sequences and design novel peptide variants.
  • To explore the structural and functional characteristics of IGF-1.
  • To identify new therapeutic strategies targeting the IGF-1 pathway.

Main Methods:

  • Combined evolutionary sequence analysis with structural and functional data of IGF-1.
  • Reconstructed ancestral IGF-1 sequences.
  • Designed novel IGF-1 peptide variants.

Main Results:

  • The insulin-like growth factor system displays significant sequence diversity but conserved structural topology.
  • IGF-1 interacts with cell surface receptors within the IGF system via protein-protein interactions.
  • Reconstructed IGF-1 variants exhibited structural folds similar to viral IGF-1 competitive antagonists.

Conclusions:

  • The findings guide the design of novel IGF-1 mimic peptides.
  • Enhanced understanding of IGF-1 functionality.
  • Opens new therapeutic avenues for anticancer drug development.
Keywords:
ASRHomo sapiens.IGF-IRInsulin-like growth factor-Icancerinsulin

More Related Videos

Optimization of Synthetic Proteins: Identification of Interpositional Dependencies Indicating Structurally and/or Functionally Linked Residues07:08

Optimization of Synthetic Proteins: Identification of Interpositional Dependencies Indicating Structurally and/or Functionally Linked Residues

Published on: July 14, 2015

7.3K
Author Spotlight: A Computational Approach to Decipher Amino Acid Preferences in Multispecific Protein-Protein Interactions06:50

Author Spotlight: A Computational Approach to Decipher Amino Acid Preferences in Multispecific Protein-Protein Interactions

Published on: January 26, 2024

1.8K

Related Concept Videos

Protein and Protein Structure02:15

Protein and Protein Structure

Proteins are one of the most abundant organic molecules in living systems and have the most diverse range of functions of all macromolecules. Proteins may be structural, regulatory, contractile, or protective. They may serve in transport, storage, or membranes; or they may be toxins or enzymes. Their structures, like their functions, vary greatly. They are all, however, amino acid polymers arranged in a linear sequence.
A protein's shape is critical to its function. For example, an enzyme...
79.0K
Conserved Binding Sites01:49

Conserved Binding Sites

Many proteins’ biological role depends on their interactions with their ligands, small molecules that bind to specific locations on the protein known as ligand-binding sites. Ligand-binding sites are often conserved among homologous proteins as these sites are critical for protein function.
Binding sites are often located in large pockets, and if their location on a protein’s surface is unknown, it can be predicted using various approaches. The energetic method computationally...
4.2K
Protein Folding01:25

Protein Folding

Proteins are chains of amino acids linked together by peptide bonds. Upon synthesis, a protein folds into a three-dimensional conformation, critical to its biological function. Interactions between its constituent amino acids guide protein folding, and hence the protein structure is primarily dependent on its amino acid sequence.
Protein Structure Is Critical to Its Biological Function
Proteins perform a wide range of biological functions such as catalyzing chemical reactions, providing...
7.8K
Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts01:57

Protein Complexes with Interchangeable Parts

Groups of proteins may form a complex where each protein in this complex has a different role in the overall execution of the complex’s function. Often some of the proteins in the complex can be replaced by a closely related variant to give a complex that contains many of the same components yet is functionally distinct.
The SCF ubiquitin ligase is a protein complex of five individual proteins. This complex attaches ubiquitin to other target proteins to mark them for degradation. In order...
2.5K
Protein Families02:47

Protein Families

Protein families are groups of homologous proteins; that is, they have similarities in amino acid sequences and three-dimensional structures. Protein families usually occur because of gene duplication, where an additional copy of a gene is inserted into the genome of an organism.   Mutations that change the amino acids but still allow the protein to be properly synthesized, will lead to new protein family members.   If these new proteins contain similar amino acids in key...
15.3K
Gene Families01:57

Gene Families

Gene families consist of groups of genes proposed to have originated from a common ancestor. Typically these arise through events in which a gene or genes are mistakenly duplicated during cell division. Unlike their parent genes (which are subject to selection pressure to maintain function), these gene copies do not need to preserve their sequences and may evolve at a relatively faster rate.
Occasionally these regions can be adapted to take on new roles within the organism, becoming novel genes...
8.8K