The successful segregation of chromosomes in mitosis requires the timely coordination of cell cycle events to ensure the bipo¬lar attachment of sister chromatids via their kinetochores to the mitotic spindle before the initiation of anaphase. Deregulation of this process or uncoupling of its component parts can lead to aneuploidy and chromosomal instability (CIN), which are recog¬nized hallmarks of cancer.
Apicomplexan parasites are a diverse group of protozoan parasites, several of which cause important human and animal diseases, such as malaria, cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis. Many of these diseases are endemic in developing countries, which are impacted by the lack of cost-efficient treatments. Cryptosporidiosis and toxoplasmosis can also be life-threatening to immunocompromised individuals, e.g. those undergoing organ transplantation or chemotherapy and HIV/AIDS patients, who cannot fight back the infection and are thus dependent on drugs to kill the parasites.
Toxoplasmosis is a parasitic disease caused by the apicomplexan protozoa Toxoplasma gondii and can pose a significant threat to immunocompromised individuals, e.g. those undergoing organ transplantation or chemotherapy and HIV/AIDS patients, who cannot fight back the infection and are thus dependent on drugs to control the infection.
The SGC has been awarded more than 0.5 M Euro as part of a joint EU FP7 -Health grant: 'Protein Binders for Characterisation of Human Proteome Function: Generation, Validation, Application "Affinomics", which encompasses 15 participant labs in eight different European countries for 5 years.
Two influential journals are now accepting and publishing articles that are enhanced using a unique platform known as iSee (interactive Structurally enhanced experience), developed in a collaboration between the SGC's Dr. Brian Marsden and Dr. Wen Hwa Lee, with Prof. Ruben Abagyan and his team from MolSoft L.L.C.
The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC), an international public-private partnership that aims to determine three dimensional structures of medically important proteins, announced today the release into the public domain of its 1000th high resolution protein structure.
A research team led by scientists from Oxford University (including the Structural Genomics Consortium, the Botnar Research Centre, the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine, the Wellcome Building for Molecular Physiology, and the australian Diamantina Institute in Brisbane), have successfully deciphered the molecular mechanism how an ER protease (ERAP1) functions in a key step in cellular immunity- the processing of peptide antigens that are presented to Major Histocompatibilty Complex 1 (MHC1) molecules.
An intuitive and interactive tool to understand the structure of important biological macromolecules is now available for the readers of the Journal of Inherited Metabolic Disease (JIMD), the leading international journal covering all aspects of inborn errors of metabolism. Called iSee (for Interactive Structural Enhanced Experience), this molecular graphics tool will allow the readers to interactively fly over, zoom into and dive through 3D visualisations in atomic detail.
The Structural Genomic Consortium (SGC) announced today that SGC and Cerep, a worldleading biotechnology company, will enter into a collaboration to develop open access biochemical and cell-based assays for the discovery of small molecule chemical probes and drug candidates on epigenetic targets. As part of the collaboration, Cerep will open a laboratory in Toronto from which it will offer its screening and profiling services.
London, June 10, 2010 - The Structural Genomics Consortium (SGC) and Pfizer today announced that Pfizer will join the SGC-led public-private collaboration to generate small molecule inhibitors – "chemical probes" – for proteins involved in epigenetic signaling. Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) are now members of this collaboration, launched in late 2008 with the aim to provide the community with high quality research reagents, free from restriction on use.