Protein Cleavage
- Thread starter PharmEm
- Start date
PharmEm said:
interesting question..share the answer please...
Thank.
Well, my prof. wanted us to find a solution to antibiotic resistance (even though there is no real solution...as of today that is). I suggested that we cleave off f-methionine, the protein that is needed to start protein synthesis. I found an enzyme called protein deformylase that is found in the mitochondria and chloroplasts in plants that cleaves off f-methionine. I'm not too sure if this solution would work but eh, it was just an idea.
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2004
- Messages
- 42,019
- Reaction score
- 159
- Points
- 4,716
- Location
- gone to seed
- Pharmacist
The real solution: don't use antibiotics.
Well... it would curb resistance.
Well... it would curb resistance.
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2003
- Messages
- 2,642
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 4,571
- Location
- Woodinville, Washington
- Pharmacist
PharmEm said:
It's a good start. You need to design a drug delivery system for this protein. How will you get it to the bacterium before it is destroyed by the human immune system? What are the functional groups on this protein? Is it activated or inactivated by acid? Do you need to add functional groups to protect it from acid and to fool the cell to transport it inside? Sounds like a really interesting med chem problem. What class are you taking where this was a question?
This is for the take home essay for my micobio class.
Well, I know that CNBr (cyanide bromine) is another way that f-meth can be claved off but since it's an acid, it can't be used in humans. Protein deformylase is found in plants, which are eukaryotic, so I'm assuming it'll work in humans (not srue about that, jsut a wild guess). I guess the way I would insert it into the the bacteria would be through a plasmid. I know that bacteria use plasmids to transfer DNA amongst each other but I really don't know how I could insert the enzyme into a human, maybe trhough an acute virus (along with the flu shot). Any other suggestions? Thanks for being interested!
Well, I know that CNBr (cyanide bromine) is another way that f-meth can be claved off but since it's an acid, it can't be used in humans. Protein deformylase is found in plants, which are eukaryotic, so I'm assuming it'll work in humans (not srue about that, jsut a wild guess). I guess the way I would insert it into the the bacteria would be through a plasmid. I know that bacteria use plasmids to transfer DNA amongst each other but I really don't know how I could insert the enzyme into a human, maybe trhough an acute virus (along with the flu shot). Any other suggestions? Thanks for being interested!
- Joined
- Jan 10, 2003
- Messages
- 2,642
- Reaction score
- 7
- Points
- 4,571
- Location
- Woodinville, Washington
- Pharmacist
PharmEm said:
How big is the protein? Will it fit into a bacteriophage (virus that attacks bacteria)?
The phage virus won't harm humans, just bacteria. They will attach to the bacterium and dump their DNA/RNA (depending on virus) into the bacteria. I'd figure out the codon sequence for that protein and try to splice it into the DNA/RNA of the virus. Then when it attacks the bacteria, it will use the bacterial DNA to replicate that sequence. This will make the bacteriophage an effective little killing machine. I'm sure there are problems with this approach. It isn't very cost effective for one. And no one will pay for drug development if it doesn't make a profit. Most people won't want to pay 2K for an antibiotic shot.
The cheaper way is to develop something like Clavulanic acid which can inhibit the penicillinase produced by the bacteria that keeps penicillin from working. I think it's easier to look at how resistance is developed by bacteria to a specific antibiotic and try to attack that pathway.
