Bioscientists at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) at Berkeley Lab lent their expertise to a project led by scientists at the University of Washington to design proteins in the lab that zip together like DNA. The technique could enable the design of protein nanomachines to help diagnose and treat disease, allow for more precise engineering of cells, and perform a variety of other tasks.
Toward a Blueprint for Anti-influenza Drugs
An international team led by researchers at UCSF used protein crystallography at the Advanced Light Source (ALS) beamline 8.3.1 to obtain structures of several influenza antiviral drug molecules bound to their proton-channel targets in both open and closed conformations. These complexes provide the first high-resolution views of how the drugs interact with and disrupt the water-molecule networks lining the M2 transmembrane channel. The structures provide an atomic-level blueprint from which to design more effective anti-influenza drugs that can overcome growing drug resistance. ALS beamline 8.3.1 is operated by James Holton, MBIB beamline scientist and associate adjunct professor at UCSF.
Read more in the ALS Science Highlight.
Newly Characterized Toxin Gives Bacterium a Leg Up on the Competition
Bacteria deploy various biological mechanisms to fend off their competition, which are often other bacteria. In some cases, they secrete toxins in their fight for survival. A newly discovered toxin stands out from others in the battle for microbial domination. Marc Allaire, Molecular Biophysics & Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB) Division researcher, worked with a team led by Joseph Mougous of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and University of Washington School of Medicine, to characterize this new toxin.
Recent Highlights from the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology Beamlines
Data collected at the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology (BCSB) in the Advanced Light Source (ALS) has provided new structural insights into an antibody that protects against the bacterium that causes meningitis and sepis; a protein that unwinds quadruple DNA/RNA helixes; and an antibody targeting interleukin-2 that may provide a means of treating autoimmune disorders.
Infrared Beams Show Cell Types in a Different Light
Biosciences’ Cynthia McMurray and Mike Martin of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) are spearheading an effort to develop a noninvasive, label-free technique to probe living cells in their native environments to aid in biological and medical research. By shining highly focused infrared light—which doesn’t damage or otherwise alter the cells—they hope to be able to distinguish features within cells and identify individual cell types by their unique spectral signatures. McMurray, a senior scientist in Molecular Biophysics and Integrated Bioimaging (MBIB), and Martin, photon science operations group lead at the ALS, received a round of seed money earlier this year to support their effort, dubbed “spectral phenotyping.” An Aug. 8 news article in the journal Science highlighted their work and that of the larger Human Cell Atlas project that aims to provide “a unique ID card for each cell type,” as well as a 3D map of how cells form tissues, and new insights into disease.
Read more in the News Center.
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