LA BioMed Researchers Develop New, More Reliable Method For Measuring Protein Synthesis

Main Category: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 23 Jan 2008 - 3:00 PDT

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In a major breakthrough for future research and drug development, a team of Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) investigators developed a new, more reliable method for measuring protein synthesis and turnover, processes that are critical to understanding cellular functions.

Their findings were reported in the online edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology, a peer-reviewed journal. The researchers used deuterated or "heavy" water -- water to which the normal hydrogen is partly replaced by added deuterium - and mass spectrometry to determine specific protein synthesis. Previous methods for measuring protein synthesis required purification of proteins and weren't as accurate or reliable.

This new method makes it possible for scientists to study the dynamics of every protein in the human body.

"This is really the definitive method for measuring protein synthesis because it enables scientists to measure this critical process accurately for the first time," said Wai-Nang Paul Lee, M.D. and a LA BioMed investigator. "The proteins are the structure, the skeleton and the enzymes that allow the cell to function. Protein synthesis is a very sensitive indicator of the integrity of the cell and the function it performs."

Dr. Lee was the leader of a team of LA BioMed researchers that included Drs. Gary Guishan Xiao, Meena Garg, Shu Lim and Derek Wong. Dr. Vay Liant Go, Department of Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles also participated in the research.

In the past, scientists used labeled amino acids to help determine protein synthesis. But this process had the potential of introducing errors and required protein purification. The use of deuterated water eliminated these errors and made the proteins easier to measure. The scientists determined this method would be especially useful in studies of protein turnover and protein expression in proteomics to address important clinical questions such as the age and dynamics of amyloid plaques in Alzheimer's disease.

The study, entitled "Determination of Protein Synthesis in vivo Using Labeling from Deuterated Water and Analysis of MALDI-TOF Spectrum," appears in the online edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology.

The Journal of Applied Physiology publishes original papers that deal with diverse areas of research in applied physiology, especially those papers emphasizing adaptive and integrative mechanisms. For more information, please visit http://jap.physiology.org/.

About LA BioMed

Founded more than 55 years ago, LA BioMed conducts biomedical research, trains young scientists and provides community services, including childhood immunization, nutrition assistance and anti-gang violence programs. The institute's researchers conduct studies in such areas as cardio-vascular disease, emerging infections, cancer, diabetes, kidney disease, dermatology, reproductive health, vaccine development, respiratory disorders, inherited illnesses and neonatology.

LA BioMed researchers have invented the modern cholesterol test, the thyroid deficiency test and a test to determine the carriers of Tay-Sachs disease, an inherited fatal disorder. One of the institute's researchers also developed the paramedic model for emergency care, setting a precedent that transformed emergency medical services and became the basis for training paramedics across the country.

Among LA BioMed's current research programs are a major effort to develop the next generation of antibiotics, new therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to lung disease, refining methods for earlier identification of Type II diabetes, studies in the relationship between cardiovascular and kidney diseases, development of enhanced breast cancer detection technology and a novel approach to treating several autoimmune diseases and certain solid tumors.

LA BioMed is an independent research institute that is academically affiliated with the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. The institute is located on the campus of Harbor-UCLA Medical Center near Torrance. The institute has become an economic engine for Los Angeles and Orange counties, pumping an additional $155 million into the economy in 2005, according to a 2007 Los Angeles Economic Development Corporation report. It contributes to the region's economic viability while inventing the future of health care through its ground-breaking research, its training of the scientists of tomorrow and its service to the local community.

http://www.LABioMed.org