In the constant struggle against disease and infection, Hopkins scientists believe they have found yet another tool to help the cause. A study in the April 22 issue of Molecular Cell shows that the yeast species Schizosaccharomyces pombecontains Sre1, a protein responsible for allowing the organism to survive in environments where oxygen is sparse or even missing.
The discovery can potentially help individuals impacted by conditions that harm one’s immune system including organ transplants and AIDS.
To begin researchers utilized their collection of 2,626 different types of the yeast, which were each altered to have a different gene missing from the organism’s genome. From there they placed each strain of yeast under low oxygen conditions and found that four strains were able to grow once the Sre1 protein was returned to the cell.
The findings suggest that in the four strains of yeast, the Sre1 protein activated a gene that subsequently allowed the yeast to survive under the adverse lab conditions.
Interestingly, the Sre1 protein is typically attached to the cell membrane and can only become activated if it is removed. Once removed, it can then activate the necessary genes for low oxygen survival. In order to determine how Sre1 is removed and brought to the nucleus, scientists looked at the four mutant strains able to grow with little oxygen.
The researchers found four genes called defective for Sre cleavage (dsc 1-4), which enabled the Sre1 protein to be cut from the cell membrane and brought to the nucleus.
This discovery holds great importance for drug ingenuity because the presence of the Sre1 protein allows many disease-causing fungi to become infectious. For example, the fungus Asperigillus fumigatus becomes highly poisonous with the protein and can debilitate the immune systems of people suffering from cancer.
As a result, tailoring new drugs towards attacking or suppressing the dsc 1-4 genes has opened yet another avenue in attempts to fight fungal infection.
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