target proteins

(Rochester Institute of Technology) Scientists at Rochester Institute of Technology and Dowling College are matching proteins to the job they perform in the human body.

Their research could lead to drugs that target proteins and switch on or off specific functions associated with various diseases.

The three-year study is funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health's National Institute of General Medical Sciences.

(Burnham Institute) Investigators at Burnham Institute for Medical Research have identified novel cleavage sites for the enzyme caspase-3 (an enzyme that proteolytically cleaves target proteins).

Using an advanced proteomic technique called N-terminomics, Guy Salvesen, Ph.D., professor and director of the Apoptosis and Cell Death Research program of Burnham's NCI-designated Cancer Center, and colleagues determined the cleavage sites on target proteins and found, contrary to previous understanding, that caspase-3 targets a-helices as well as unstructured loops.