The ability to selectively and rapidly degrade a protein of interest (POI) inside cells is desirable for studying its function and in therapeutics. Previously, the Sapkota Lab had developed the Affinity-directed PROtein Missile (AdPROM) system for constitutive degradation of POIs (Fulcher et al., 2016 & 2017).

The Sapkota lab developed the Affinity-directed PROtein Missile (AdPROM) system for targeted degradation of endogenous proteins inside cells. In principle, by deploying binders of specific proteins attached to destruction signals as “protein missiles”, any intracellular protein can be destroyed rapidly.

Elena Purlyte, a PhD student in Professor Dario Alessi’s lab in the MRC PPU, has been issued with a commendation by the University Principal for her contributions to academic excellence, student representation and leadership in the School of Life Sciences.

Alban Ordureau, a PhD student and then postdoc in Philip Cohen’s lab from 2008-2013 has been appointed Assistant Professor and Principal Investigator in the Cell Biology Program at the Sloan Kettering Institute, New York, one of the world’s leading cancer researc

Researchers within the Reagents and Services (R&S) division of the MRC PPU and the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research (CVR) have worked extremely hard since January in order to produce expression plasmids, proteins and sheep affinity purified polyclonal antibodies to all 28 proteins encoded for by SARS-CoV-2.

Launching today, Tuesday 12th May, the COVID-19 Protein Portal allows UK scientists to access protein reagents for critical research relating to SARS-CoV-2. Protein reagents are provided free of charge by a consortium of leading protein production laboratories, in an Open Science initiative led by Wellcome and UKRI.

Despite the coronavirus lockdown, researchers from MRC PPU are continuing to attend online meetings, seminars and conferences to share ideas with researchers around the world.

University of Dundee researchers are studying a protein that aids the spread of COVID-19 in the hope of finding ways of blocking its function.

Mutations in genes encoding PINK1 (PTEN-induced kinase 1) are a leading cause of autosomal recessive early-onset Parkinson’s disease. PINK1 is a protein kinase that is activated upon mitochondrial damage to phosphorylate Ubiquitin and Parkin to stimulate Parkin E3 ligase activity and is a master-regulator of mitochondrial quality control.

Life may be dominated by COVID-19, but we are still pleased to see that our protocol for utilizing human peripheral blood neutrophils for research into the Parkinson’s disease associated LRRK2 kinase has been published.