The gatekeepers of the human cell are membrane proteins, and with new funding, ASU researchers might be able to unlock the mysteries these small organic compounds might hide.
ASU researchers were given a five-year, $7.7 million grant last week from the National Institutes of Health to study membrane proteins.
ASU researchers and graduate students will be determining the structure of the proteins, focusing on how infectious diseases interact with the membrane proteins in order to access the cell.
Membrane proteins are imbedded in the cell membrane, which separates the interior of the cell from the outside environment.
The five-year goal of this endeavor is to identify 10 to 20 membrane protein structures, said Tsafrir Mor, an associate professor from ASU’s Biodesign Institute.
Mor works with the HIV virus, one of the many viruses being researched.
If researchers perfect the process, the number of identified membrane protein structures could be more than 20.
“These things never really end,” Mor said. “You can study one organism today and then move onto the next one.”
In addition, the researchers will develop different procedures to determine the structure of the membrane proteins, said Petra Fromme, the director of the Center for Membrane Proteins and Infectious Diseases.
Scientists know very little about membrane proteins, Fromme said. So far, out of the 60,000 protein structures that have been identified, only 250 of them have been membrane proteins. It’s estimated that 30 percent of proteins are membrane proteins.
The reason knowing the structure of membrane proteins is so important in regards to infectious diseases is the interaction between the protein and the pathogen, Fromme said. A pathogen is a foreign microorganism that can cause a disease, like a bacteria or a virus.
If scientists can discover how the membrane proteins interact, and how the pathogen gets into the cell, it might be possible to create a drug that would essentially block the virus from entering the cell, Mor said.
“This is really important … knowing the structure of the proteins can help us make vaccines,” said Sarah Kessans, a molecular biology graduate student.
She works with some of the proteins involved with the HIV virus.
There are eight additional organizations and universities funded by the National Institutes of Health who are working in the Protein Structure Initiative.
The initiative was started in 2000 and aims to make it easier and cheaper for organizations to discover protein structures.
The eight other organizations all study membrane proteins, but each facility has its own specific facet of research. These include Harvard Medical School, Scripps Research Institute and the California Institute of Technology.
“This is one of the largest initiatives from the NIH, and it’s very prestigious to be a part of it,” Fromme said.
Inside ASU, many different departments and schools have come together to work on the project, including the School of Life Sciences, the Biodesign Institue, the physics department and the department of chemistry and biochemistry.
Organizing this conglomeration is what Mor called an “experiment in organization.”
Mor said large conglomerations of different groups with different expertise trying to solve broad issues are starting to become more common, as opposed to small research groups trying to answer specific questions.
“[This is] really unique because it’s bringing together different organizations with the one goal of discovering the structure of these proteins,” Fromme said.
Reach the reporter at connor.radnovich@asu.edu
