Helping researchers to characterise proteins
A new European project will pave the way for the creation of a library of molecules to help detect and characterise the proteins found in the human body. The ProteomeBinders project, which is lead by the UK's Babraham Institute, brings together 28 partners from 13 countries. It is funded under the Sixth Framework Programme's Research Infrastructures programme, and is due to run until 2010. A major challenge in biology is understanding how the information encoded in our genes and expressed as proteins manages the biological organisation of cells, tissues and organisms. 'This requires a comprehensive, standardised collection of specific protein-binding molecules,' explained project coordinator Dr Mike Taussig. 'ProteomeBinders aims to provide the tools required to detect and characterise all the relevant human proteins in tissues and fluids in health and disease.' The researchers will consolidate and bring together information on antibodies, the most widely used protein-binders, and evaluate alternative protein binding systems such as nucleic acids and peptides. They plan to integrate existing infrastructures, review technologies and methods, standardise tools and applications and establish a database. The human proteome consists of over 100,000 proteins, and for many applications several binding molecules are needed for each protein. The project partners hope to produce and collect hundreds of thousands of specific binders. The resulting infrastructure will be useful to scientists working in a range of fields, such as healthcare, diagnostics and drug development.
Countries
United Kingdom