Proteins play a central role in practically all diseases.
They are the basic components of life, which serve as essential components in almost all cellular processes. They facilitate communication between cells and ensure that biological systems work correctly.
In a nutshell, life would not exist without protein. That is why researchers around the world are dedicated to understanding them.
Now, a new study by the University of Copenhagen highlights how protein research could revolutionary multiple areas within biology and medicine. The study, published in the magazine CellIt was directed by scientists from the Novo Nordisk Protein Research Center at Copenhagen University.
“We hope that our findings will help explore how drugs influence protein rotation and contribute to the development of better medications. Our research could also reveal how protein stability changes with age and how we could promote healthy aging,” says Professor Jesper Velgaard Olsen.
“In short, we have developed an avant -garde technology that allows us to analyze and quantify proteins in individual cells with unprecedented depth. Now we can identify exactly what proteins are present and in what quantities.”
With this new approach, researchers can measure how individual cells produce and break down proteins, a process known as “protein replacement.” The technique, called SC-PSILAC, allows scientists to track both the abundance of proteins and the speed at which they are delivered in individual cells. These ideas could have significant implications for cancer research, medication development and personalized medicine.
Mapping of the impact of cancer treatments
Despite its fundamental importance, there is still much that we do not know about proteins, including how many exist in a human cell.
SC-PSILAC is a great advance, since it can distinguish between divided and not divided cells. An excellent example is cancer cells, which are quickly divided and typically attacked by chemotherapy.
However, some cancer cells are not divided, which allows them to evade chemotherapy. The new method helps identify these treatment resistant cells, which leads to better therapies.
“Now we can observe that the undivided cells remain metabolically active and continue to affect their environment, something that the previous methods could not detect,” explains Olsen.
Researchers have also used this technique to examine how specific medications impact protein replacement in individual cells, including Bortzomib cancer medication. His findings discovered specific proteins and biological processes previously unknown influenced by treatment.
“This method represents a significant leap in protein research,” says Olsen.
“In my field, we have worked for years to analyze proteins within cells. Only recently technological progress has allowed us to do it at the individual cell level.”
Thanks to this innovation, scientists now have a much more detailed understanding of how proteins work at the molecular level. The hope is that this knowledge drives advances in the diagnosis of diseases and treatment strategies.