The deposition of misfolded proteins is a central characteristic of many devastating diseases including neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and prion diseases. In principle, improving the cells’ ability to deal with misfolded proteins should reduce the pathology in these diverse neurodegenerative diseases. A study led by Anne Bertolotti has identified […]
A small molecule to correct protein folding defects.
Max Perutz: his life and legacy
“LMB scientists take part in a round-table discussion about Max Perutz.” More…
First X-ray crystal structure of dynein motor domain
The first X-ray crystal structure of the motor domain of cytoplasmic dynein, a protein that uses the cellular energy from ATP to walk along microtubule tracks that run throughout the cell, has been solved. Cytoplasmic dynein moves numerous cargos around the cell including proteins and RNAs that set up the cell polarity, membraneous organelles, aggregated […]
Propagation of mutant SOD1 misfolding.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is caused by the progressive dysfunction of specific nerve cells that control muscle movement. It belongs to a group of devastating neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Huntington’s and prion diseases. Each disease is caused by the progressive accumulation of specific proteins in an aberrant, misfolded shape. The formation of the protein […]
Mariann Bienz talks about signalling pathways as a target for cancer therapies
“A number of signalling pathways discovered in Drosophila flies and other model organisms have subsequently turned out to be important in cancer and specifically in cancer stem cell function. Mariann Bienz talks about the role of the Wnt signalling pathway in cancer growth and cancer metastases but warns of difficulties developing therapies to target this […]
Breakthrough in Fanconi Anaemia research.
A group led by KJ Patel from the LMB, together with collaborators at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and CRUK Cambridge Research Institute (CRI), have developed the first model for the human genetic illness Fanconi Anaemia (FA). This genetic condition results in abnormal development, bone marrow failure and a huge lifetime risk of developing cancer. […]