Translating Proteomics Episode 7 – Harnessing Proteoforms to Understand Life’s Complexity

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‘Translating Proteomics’ explores the science of proteomics and its growing impact on biological research, biomarker discovery, drug development, food and energy security, and a range of other timely topics. The goal of these conversations is to expose you to important issues in proteomics, deepen your love of science, and prompt you to question assumptions about what may be possible.

Your hosts are Drs. Parag Mallick and Andreas Huhmer of Nautilus Biotechnology. Parag is an Associate Professor at Stanford University whose lab performs systems biology studies that drive precision medicine approaches for cancer diagnosis and treatment. Andreas is a veteran scientist whose industry work has supported thousands of proteomics researchers by helping to bring the latest mass spec technologies into their labs.

All Translating Proteomics episode links

Ep 1 – Poised for a Proteomics Breakthrough
Ep 2 – Putting Proteomics to Work
Ep 3 – Biology in Space and Time
Ep 4 – Single-protein Biomarkers Don’t Cut It
Ep 5 – Why the Dogma around Biology’s Central Dogma Is Wrong
Ep 6 – The Future of AI in Biomedicine
Ep 7 – Harnessing Proteofroms to Understand Life’s complexity (You’re here)
Ep 8 – Expanding the Druggable Universe with Proteomics

Episode 7 – Harnessing Proteoforms to Understand Life’s Complexity

Proteins are far more than just the output of genes. They can be modified in myriad ways to produce millions of proteoforms with altered dynamics, localization, and function. For a comprehensive understanding of biology that will propel drug development and biomarker discovery forward, we need to be able to measure proteoforms routinely. In this episode, Parag and Andreas discuss the incredible value that will come from studying proteoforms and describe what it will take to make proteoform measurement a routine part of biology research.

Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction to proteoforms

09:38 – Evidence that proteoforms are important and how we can use proteoform data

19:28 – Technological advances needed to understand proteoform biology

Some key points of discussion:

• Proteins are dynamic constructs whose modifications consequentially impact their functions.
• There are many proteoforms are they are currently challenging to measure.
• People have begun to recognize the importance of proteoforms and we will have technologies to routinely measure them soon.

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