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.
Cells need to respond quickly when they encounter stress conditions in order to avoid consequences such as cell death. New research from Madan Babu’s group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division has identified a mechanism by which cells can enhance the expression of stress-response genes by increasing the efficiency of protein synthesis specifically for these genes.
Michel Goedert’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division and Sjors Scheres’ group in the LMB’s Structural Studies Division have used electron cryo-microscopy (cryo-EM) to solve the structures of tau filaments from patients with the frontotemporal dementia Pick’s disease.
When an animal detects a stimulus that might signal danger, this primes sensory and motor organs to respond more readily to further stimulation. This is called sensitisation and is one aspect of the more general phenomenon of arousal, in which animals become more alert and can respond more effectively to potential threats. However, the basic principles of how arousal is triggered have not been fully understood.
Many complex tubular organs, including kidney, lung, the intestine and several glands, form from a flat layer of cells during animal development. Failure of proper tube formation underlies severe congenital malformations such as Spina Bifida, and the failure to maintain tube architecture for instance underlies Polycystic Kidney Diseases. How tissues transition from flat 2D structures to 3D tubes is poorly understood.
Scientists have identified planets outside our solar system where the same chemical conditions exist that may have led to life on Earth. The researchers, from John Sutherland’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division and the University of Cambridge Cavendish Laboratory, found that the chances for life to develop on the surface of a rocky planet like Earth are connected to the type and strength of light given off by its host star.
Anne Bertolotti’s group in the LMB’s Neurobiology Division have developed the first platform to discover selective inhibitors of phosphatases, a class of enzyme which have largely been considered ‘undruggable’. This has allowed Anne’s group to identify a small molecule, Raphin1, which selectively inhibits a protein phosphatase and is effective in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease – an exciting step in the potential treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.