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.
Matthew Freeman’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division have discovered a novel protein, iRhom2, that plays a central role in the signalling pathways that regulate inflammation and cancer.
The cytokine protein, TNF, is the primary trigger of inflammation in humans. To function, active TNF must be shed from cells by the protease TACE. TACE is also responsible for the cleavage of many important growth factors, that when deregulated can contribute to cancer.
Andrew McKenzie’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have shown for the first time that a new immune cell type, the nuocyte, can orchestrate the initiation of allergic asthma in an experimental model. Nuocytes were shown to cause airway hyperactivity – a key feature of human asthma.
Melina Schuh, in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, has uncovered for the first time a new transport system for long-range transport of vesicles in animal cells. This discovery could re-write the textbooks on the subject.
Intracellular transport is vital for the function, survival and architecture of every cell. The contents of our body’s cells are constantly on the move.
KJ Patel’s group in the LMB’s PNAC Division have uncovered for the first time, how excess alcohol can cause irreparable damage to our DNA. In a new study published in the journal Nature today, they also discovered a two-tier defence system in our cells that limits the threat of permanent genetic damage.
KJ’s group have discovered that an overload of a toxic chemical called acetaldehyde, a by-product from the breakdown of alcohol in our body, can cause damage to DNA.
Vision is perhaps the most important sense by which we understand the world. Visual information is transmitted by nerve cells sending signals to each other through special connections called synapses. But how does this happen?
Leon Lagnado’s group in the Neurobiology Division of the LMB is investigating how visual signals are transmitted between neurons in the retina.
A group of collaborative researchers, led by Alan Warren’s group at the LMB, have discovered a surprising link between human ribosome maturation and cancer.
The team identified the conserved mechanism that underlies a critical step in the maturation of ribosomes and showed that this step is defective in an inherited form of bone marrow failure that is associated with significant leukemia predisposition (Shwachman-Diamond syndrome, SDS).