Analytica Research Prize for Dr. Matthias Selbach of MDC - New Method for Measuring the Production of Thousands of Proteins
Proteins play
a key role in practically every cell activity: Whether they transport oxygen, make
muscles move or digest food – proteins are the chief actors in almost all
biological processes. The “blueprint” for proteins is encoded in the genes. But
although all cells of the body have the same genes, they produce quite
different proteins. How then is the production of these different proteins
regulated? Hitherto, scientists have devoted much effort to investigate each
protein individually.
In their
laboratory in Berlin,
Dr. Selbach and his research team have now developed a new approach enabling
them to measure the production of thousands of proteins simultaneously. The
method involves labeling the amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, with
stable isotopes.
The cells
then incorporate the isotope-labeled amino acids into the proteins. As a
following step, the scientists quantify the protein synthesis using a mass
spectrometer.
Only a few
years ago, researchers discovered that microRNAs play an important role in gene
regulation. microRNAs are tiny pieces of ribonucleic acid, a chemical relative
of DNA. microRNAs also determine which proteins are produced by which cells.
If the regulation goes awry, this can lead to many diseases. Scientists
across the globe are therefore seeking to develop methods to detect which microRNAs
are active in the body’s cells and which proteins are regulated by them.
But exactly which proteins does a specific microRNA regulate? To solve
this question, the research teams of Dr. Selbach and Professor Nikolaus
Rajewsky at the Max
DelbrückCenter
have joined forces.
Using the novel analytical approach they developed, the MDC researchers
for the first time were able to quantify the influence of microRNAs on protein
production.
They
discovered that a single microRNA can regulate synthesis of hundreds of
proteins. In this way microRNAs can program the behavior of human cells.
Since in
cancer cells different microRNAs are active than in healthy cells, microRNAs are considered to be promising candidates for
diagnostics and therapy. Therefore, the researchers’ findings are anticipated
to have a great impact in the future.
Matthias
Selbach was born in Düsseldorf in 1971 and studied biology in Münster. He wrote
his dissertation at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Infection Biology in Berlin and received his PhD degree from Humboldt UniversityBerlin.
He then worked at the Center for Experimental Bioinformatics at the University of South Denmark
in Odense and
at the MPI for Biochemistry in Martinsried. Since 2007 he leads the research
group “Cellular Signalling
and Mass Spectrometry” at
the MDC in Berlin-Buch.
Analytica Research Prize for Dr. Matthias Selbach of MDC (Photo: David Ausserhofer/Copyright: MDC)
Barbara
Bachtler
Press
and Public Affairs
MaxDelbrück
Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
Berlin-Buch
Robert-Rössle-Straße
10, 13125 Berlin, Germany
Phone:
+49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 96
Fax: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 33
e-mail:
presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/
Further information
- http://www.gbm-online.de/v2/home.html
- http://www.roche.de/.
- http://www.mdc-berlin.de/en/news/2008/20080729-micrornas_tune_protein_synthesis/index.html
- http://www.mdc-berlin.de/de/research/research_teams/intrazellul_re_signalwege_und_massenspektrometrie/index.html
- http://www.mdc-berlin.de/en/research/research_teams/intrazellul_re_signalwege_und_massenspektrometrie/index.html
