Matteo Allegretti, Group Leader in the Structural Studies Division at the LMB.
Abstract: Our body is made up of trillions of cells, each consisting of a myriad of proteins that perform all the tasks needed to sustain life. Amazingly nature has engineered around a hundred trillion proteins from twenty basic building blocks called amino acids. These amino acids act like Lego bricks that can be placed together in different orders and combinations to produce incredible molecular machines. The information to produce proteins is stored, protected and copied in the nucleus which is akin to a central library that houses all the inherited information in the form of DNA. The nucleus also receives signals from the environment allowing the fabrication of or destruction of the right protein in the right place and at the right time to ensure cell survival.
The field of structural biology aims to solve the structure of each protein at atomic level resolution. To give an idea of scale this is at the level of a meter divided ten billion times, so in incredibly fine detail. This information is important because many diseases are linked to defective proteins and so understanding their structure is of direct medical relevance.
My lab is particularly interested in investigating the structure of proteins which interact, protect and shape the nucleus, visualising them acting directly inside a cell or a tissue. We use giant (electron) microscopes to carry out this task. This is an exciting avenue for structural biology and I will explain how we perform this type of research here at the LMB. Our ultimate aim is to use this technology to investigate the molecular basis of cancer looking at the protein machines which allow cells to migrate in healthy and carcinogenic cells. The overall hope is that such structural information will help in the design of novel therapeutic drugs and provide new avenues for treatment.
Further details of this and other talks can be found on our website at https://www2.mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk/news-and-events/scientific-seminars/