A friend of yours who works at a biotechnology start up company has computationally designed three new proteins that she thinks might be able to prevent and possibly reverse cancers if they could be expressed/transported in the right location in human cells. If this works, the company will be worth billions and everyone who works there will be rich. Not to mention curing cancer… The plan is to use a genetically modified, harmless virus to deliver the DNA genes for these three proteins. This should result in the transcription of mRNA and translation of the three proteins. The trick is getting the proteins to go to the right places in the cells so they can interact with the right cellular pathways. The first protein is a transcription factor that binds to DNA and should shut down transcription of cancer promoting genes by binding to their promoters. The second is a protein that interacts with electron transport chain proteins to reduce the output of reactive free radicals in mitochondria. The third is a cell surface protein that inhibits incoming growth factor signals. Based on your talents in cell biology, your friend offers you a job on her research and development team. Your goal is to genetically modify each of these designer proteins so that when they are transcribed and translated in a human cell, they will be transported by cellular machinery to the correct location in the cell for their specific functions. How would you do this? Give a description of what you would add to each of the three proteins to get them transported to the right place and how the relevant transport system works.
A friend of yours who works at a
The plan is to use a genetically modified, harmless virus to deliver the DNA genes for these three proteins. This should result in the transcription of mRNA and translation of the three proteins. The trick is getting the proteins to go to the right places in the cells so they can interact with the right cellular pathways.
The first protein is a transcription factor that binds to DNA and should shut down transcription of cancer promoting genes by binding to their promoters. The second is a protein that interacts with electron transport chain proteins to reduce the output of reactive free radicals in mitochondria. The third is a cell surface protein that inhibits incoming growth factor signals.
Based on your talents in cell biology, your friend offers you a job on her research and development team. Your goal is to genetically modify each of these designer proteins so that when they are transcribed and translated in a human cell, they will be transported by cellular machinery to the correct location in the cell for their specific functions. How would you do this? Give a description of what you would add to each of the three proteins to get them transported to the right place and how the relevant transport system works.
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