Laboratory opens at the Diamond Light Source synchrotron (9/7/2008)

Cutting edge facilities for crystallising membrane proteins unveiled

An Imperial College-led laboratory set up to solve the structures of membrane proteins was officially opened by Imperial's Rector Sir Roy Anderson on 1 September 2008 at the Diamond Light Source national synchrotron facility in Oxfordshire.

The Membrane Protein Laboratory (MPL) is a joint venture between Imperial College London and Diamond Light Source, with funding from the Wellcome Trust. The MPL has been established to assist researchers, led by Imperial's Professor So Iwata, to solve the structure of important membrane proteins, which are embedded in the oily membranes which coat the thousands of cells in our bodies.

There are over 7,000 membrane proteins in the human body and they are involved in many important functions. Over 50 per cent of current commercially available drugs work by targeting membrane proteins.

To date, however, scientists have only solved the structures of less than five of the 7,000 human membrane proteins. This is because in order to determine their structures, researchers need to crystallise the membrane proteins, which is extremely difficult to do. The MPL lab will provide Professor Iwata and his research colleagues with cutting edge equipment to successfully grow membrane protein crystals, which can then be analysed in the Diamond experimental stations to understand more about their atomic structure and how they work.

Diamond Light Source consists of a doughnut-shaped building the size of five football pitches, around the centre of which electrons are accelerated to almost the speed of light. When electrons are accelerated on a circular path, they lose energy in the form of extremely powerful x-rays which shoot off at a tangent to the electron ring. It is these x-ray beams that Imperial researchers will use for extremely high-resolution analysis of membrane protein crystals.

Professor So Iwata from Imperial's Department of Life Sciences, and Director of the Membrane Protein Laboratory, said: "The opening of the Membrane Protein Laboratory marks a very exciting development in the study of the most intractable of the large biological molecules: the membrane proteins. These proteins are generally avoided by structural biologists as they are a challenge to study due to the fact that they are very oily and repel water, which makes handling them extremely difficult.

"Diamond and Imperial have teamed up to create the Membrane Protein Laboratory so that expertise in this specialist field can be shared and we can encourage other structural biologists to take on the challenge of solving these difficult but extremely important proteins."

Professor Gerd Materlik, Chief Executive of Diamond, added: "The MPL will provide equipment and expertise to membrane protein crystallographers from around the world and we are delighted to have it sited here at Diamond, the UK's national synchrotron science facility. This new laboratory is a vibrant symbol of the nation's commitment to remain at the forefront of scientific endeavour and the hunt for new and more effective drugs to cure many of the most important and serious diseases.

"Through its work in this field, the MPL will contribute to the knowledge economy of the UK and Europe by helping to develop the health and welfare of its citizens."

Financial support for the MPL has also been provided by Japanese Science and Technology (JST) to set up the Human Receptor Crystallography project, which funded part of the equipment and staff who currently work at the MPL.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by the Imperial College London

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