A protein that is not functioning the way it should could be the catalyst for an array of medical conditions like cancer and autoimmune diseases. So it makes sense that identifying and understanding what’s wrong with the protein can help develop treatments.
A recent study published in PNAS produced a breakthrough image of a powerful enzyme (a type of protein) involved in the body’s immune response that may offer a key route to how we treat these diseases.
The research team used cryo-electron microscopy, kind of like a camera for things at the molecular level, to look at the structure of ADAM17. This protein behaves like a pair of molecular scissors, removing other proteins off the cell to send important signals. ADAM17 needs a helper protein called iRhom2 to maintain stability and act as an action guide.
The researchers were able to work out how these two proteins fit together and how an antibody called MEDI3622 can plug ADAM17’s active site, keeping it from turning on. But they also found the solution — a hidden control switch of sorts in the iRhom2 protein that helps to connect signals from inside the cell to what’s going on outside.
Understanding these new functions may help in the design of more precise drugs that shut down ADAM17 when it’s misbehaving, without causing unwanted side effects, offering a clearer path to targeting inflammation at its root.
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