A team of Australian scientists has won the race to determine the three dimensional structure of an important protein molecule in humans.
The protein - the epidermal growth factor (EGF) receptor - was detected on cancer cells over 20 years ago and laboratories all over the world have been trying to understand how it works ever since.
The medical implication is that solving this structure provides the detailed information for the discovery of a new class of anti-cancer drugs based on rational drug design.
These drugs would be designed to bind to the receptor and block its activation by growth factors.
The research team consists of scientists from the 'Parkville biomedical strip' in Melbourne: CSIRO Health Sciences and Nutrition, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, all members of the Collaborative Research Centre for Cellular Growth Factors.
Dr Tom Garrett of the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research says the discovery represents a major breakthrough. "This structure turns receptor biology on its head," he says. "We have shown that these molecules communicate in different and more subtle ways than had been thought."
The partners are now using the 3D-structure of the EGF receptor to gain further insight into the way it works and to identify potential drugs to act as inhibitors.
Item provided courtesy of The CSIRO
