Development of an analytical platform for bioprospecting G protein coupled receptors

• Grant number: 07/01330-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: July 01, 2007
• End date: June 30, 2010
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal Investigator: Mario Sergio Palma
• Grantee: Lucilene Delazari dos Santos
• Host Institution: Centro de Estudos de Insetos Sociais (CEIS). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In multicellular organisms, the homeostasis maintenance is dependent the continuous flow of the information processing through a complex molecular network at level cell membrane. Moreover, the organisms answers to changes in their environment or even in their development, generate intracellular signals which are translated, amplified and converted to physiological/pharmacological answers toward the signals transduction system from plasma membrane. G-proteins are responsible to detect specific and temporal characteristics of the most proceedings of the signal transduction mechanisms. Currently, more than 50% of medicines utilized in the world, act direct or indirectly, achieving or blocking the G-protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). Because of this, the pharmaceutical industries are interested in the identification of these receptors in different tissues and physiological systems acting under different types of stimulus; however, the achievement of this goal depend of the development of different array of proteins, which nowadays are quite expensive and sophisticated, making its use unusual in the academic research. Some polycationic peptides are selective model-ligands for GPCRs. This way, polycationic peptide toxins from the venom social wasps may be coupled to insoluble matrixes used in affinity chromatography protocols for the purification of GPCRs from different target cells. The association of this protocol with other techniques such as 2-D electrophoresis, in gel proteolitic digestion, mass spectrometry analysis and bioinformatics, may be used to identify a series of GPCRs which are the molecular targets of the polycatonic peptides. This approach will permit the development of an analytic platform to identify GPCRs in a bioprospection program. The development and implementation of this platform certainly will constitute an important technological upgrade for Bioprospecta program. (AU)