Structural Studies on Staphylococcus Aureus Quorum Sensing Proteins AgrA & AgrB
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Nottingham
Department Name: Sch of Pharmacy
Abstract
TBC
Organisations
Studentship Projects
| Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Student Name |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EP/N50970X/1 | 01/10/2016 | 30/09/2021 | |||
| 1805108 | Studentship | EP/N50970X/1 | 01/10/2016 | 31/12/2020 | Thomas Warwick |
| Description | Atomic-level protein structure of a key antibacterial target has been discovered. Drugging this protein could help 'mute' virulence in S.aureus without killing the infecting cells, so providing less of an impetus to evolve than is applied by current bacteriocidal antibiotics. Having a 3-dimensional structure of the target can help with drug discovery and design. Additionally, a robust method for purifying a challenging membrane protein target has been discovered, although no crystals have been grown from the purified material. |
| Exploitation Route | The so-called resolution of the structure is low. This means that certain details of the protein structure are not fully known i.e. there's still some ambiguity to it. Some focus should be given to growing a higher resolution crystal or designing a new expression construct that might yield better quality crystals. For the membrane protein, the purification is a solid foundation to begin structural studies. |
| Sectors | Chemicals,Healthcare,Pharmaceuticals and Medical Biotechnology |