From 76 to 65,438+0,000, more than 900 "new discoveries" are like a "new continent", which brings out a series of revolutionary research results about acetylation in protein. The most important thing is that the research team found for the first time in the world that acetylation has a regulating effect on metabolism, and the carrier of this metabolic effect is the enzyme responsible for energy conversion in protein.
Science, an authoritative international journal published in February 10, also published two articles, namely, Acetylation of Metabolic Enzymes Coordinating the Utilization and Metabolism of Carbon Sources and Regulation of Lysine Acetylation in protein, which showed the latest achievements of Fudan University in the field of biomedical research. Some people also commented that this research conducted by scientists in China has opened up a new field of life metabolism research, provided a new idea for developing drugs to regulate metabolism, and made it possible to develop new treatment methods, including tumors. Moreover, the acetylation modification of a large number of non-nuclear protein, such as cell proteins and metabolic enzymes, was confirmed for the first time.
This study also shows that the content of metabolic regulation in textbooks will probably be rewritten, and the concept of acetylation modification will probably become a new content of metabolic regulation.
Metabolism is the most basic feature of life phenomenon. A recent study by scientists in China profoundly revealed the new mechanism of protein acetylation, the material basis of life, and thus discovered the mystery of continuous energy exchange between living things and the outside world.
The research was led by the Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences. According to Professor Zhao Shimin of this laboratory, "acetylation" is one of the most important ways to change the function of protein. Protein needs to attach some molecules or molecular groups to the molecular chain of protein to change the function of protein in the process of performing the complex regulation and information transmission function of life, which is called "protein's modification". If an acetyl molecule is grafted on the molecular chain of protein, it is called acetylation modification. The modified protein can precisely regulate various intracellular pathways.
As early as forty years ago, scientists discovered the acetylation of protein, but their understanding of its function was very limited, mainly focusing on the influence on cell chromosome structure and the activation of nuclear transcription regulatory factors. Under the leadership of Professor Xiong Yue and Professor Guan, the Molecular Cell Biology Laboratory of the Academy of Biomedical Sciences, through the painstaking research of scientists such as Zhao Shimin and Lei Qunying, was delighted to find that the phenomenon of protein acetylation in the process of life metabolism is far more extensive than previously known, which is likely to affect the extensive modification of all aspects of cell physiology.
For example, in human hepatocytes, it was initially thought that only 76 protein species were acetylated. Through this research, scientists in China found that 1000 protein was acetylated, and more than 900 protein were newly discovered. This discovery rewrites the traditional concept in textbooks, which is a milestone for further study of acetylation modification.
At the same time, this study also found that "acetylation" generally modifies "metabolic enzyme", which can regulate the metabolic pathway and the activity of metabolic enzyme. The acetylation of protein also has high functional specificity. For example, metabolic enzymes are highly acetylated in metabolic organs (such as liver), while signal pathway proteins involved in tumorigenesis in leukemia are highly acetylated.
In addition, this study also found that the regulation of "acetylation" generally exists in the metabolic process of living beings, from lower prokaryotic cells to higher mammals including humans, there is "acetylation modification" phenomenon. Therefore, it can be considered that this process is extremely conservative in the process of life evolution.
Lin He, academician of China Academy of Sciences and president of Academy of Biomedical Sciences, believes that about 80% of human diseases are metabolic diseases, and this research by China scientists will help people to further understand the nature of human diseases and provide a series of "reverie" for people to develop new clinical drugs for different diseases. The main task of Biomedical Research Institute is to provide new theoretical basis, technology and methods, medical care and diagnosis and treatment means for the prevention and treatment of diseases of ordinary people through the research aimed at translational medicine.