The research will focus on a process known as S-acylation, in which fatty acids become attached to cellular proteins, with impacts on many important processes including neuronal communication, cardiac function, and immune responses.
The work will develop and implement new tools and technologies to build a holistic understanding of the mechanisms and outcomes of protein S-acylation – and how this process controls cell function.
The new project, led at the University of Strathclyde, will bring together a UK-wide team of researchers to advance the field and develop a blueprint for understanding S-acylation and its wider effects.
Researchers from NDM’s STRUBI, the University of Glasgow, Coventry University and Imperial College London are also partners in the study. The Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council has awarded the funding through its Strategic Longer and Larger programme.
Professor Luke Chamberlain, of the Strathclyde Institute of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, the lead researcher in the project, said: ‘This is fundamental research that aims to delineate new mechanisms controlling cell physiology. Fatty acids are added to a diverse pool of cellular proteins and this is essential for a wide range of cellular processes.
‘In addition to providing important new information on the rules of life, the work could also lead to ideas for new therapeutic opportunities and targets - this is because defects in S-acylation have been linked to several diseases and disorders.
‘This study will benefit greatly from a team science approach. By bringing together experts in S-acylation and key enabling technologies the work is poised to make major progress in this field of research.’
Professor Chamberlain is joined in the research team by Professor Nicholas Tomkinson and Dr Rebecca Beveridge, both of Strathclyde’s Department of Pure and Applied Chemistry; Professor Helen Walden and Professor Will Fuller of Glasgow; Dr Jennifer Greaves of Coventry; Professor Ed Tate of Imperial College London, and Professor Christian Siebold, Professor of Structural Biology in STRUBI.