MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
Hearing and touch depend on the ability of sensory neurons to be activated by a force, such as pressure or vibration from sound, and then pass information on to the brain. William Schafer’s group has identified some of the key proteins that make this possible.
Alcohol consumption can indirectly cause damage to our DNA and elevate cancer risk. KJ Patel’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division has identified a novel repair mechanism for DNA damage created by by-products of alcohol metabolism.
New study, led by Pablo Alcón and Shabih Shakeel in Lori Passmore’s group, in collaboration with KJ Patel in the PNAC Division, uncovers a unique molecular “clamp and pin” mechanism that activates the D2l complex, which then recruits enzymes that cut out damaged DNA
Corticobasal degeneration (CBD) is a neurodegenerative disease that belongs to a family of diseases called tauopathies in which the protein tau forms abnormal filaments. Sjors Scheres’ and Michel Goedert’s groups have now solved the first structures of CBD tau filaments.
Detection of DNA damage requires a quick response and dynamic regulation of proteins. Better understanding how DNA repair pathways are initiated could have great clinical implications, particularly for cancer therapy. A team of scientists, including members of David Neuhaus’ group at the LMB, led by Ivan Ahel at the University of Oxford, has now visualised the interaction between two proteins, PARP and HPF1, to show how they work together to initiate DNA repair.
Thyroglobulin, the protein precursor to the thyroid hormones T3 and T4, is the only molecule in the human body that is modified by iodine, and the modification directly leads to the formation of the thyroid hormones in the thyroid gland. But the exact process has been sparsely understood.