MSGID: 1:317/3 640ff86d   
   PID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
   TID: hpt/lnx 1.9.0-cur 2019-01-08   
    Biological network in cells helps body adapt to stresses on health   
      
      
     Date:   
         March 13, 2023   
     Source:   
         University of Utah Health   
     Summary:   
         Scientists have done research that opens up a whole new world within   
         our cells. Their study uncovers a vast network of interactions   
         that assist cells in adjusting in real time to withstand stresses   
         on our health.   
      
      
         Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email   
   FULL STORY   
   ==========================================================================   
   Every minute of every day, our body adapts to meet the needs of each   
   moment.   
      
   When we binge on carbs, exercise, or become sick, chemical reactions   
   inside our cells switch on, slow down, or shift strategy so that we have   
   the energy and strength we need.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   All this happens without us knowing it, perhaps explaining why so little   
   is understood about how the body senses and responds to these constant   
   demands.   
      
   Seeking answers to this question, scientists at University of Utah Health   
   led research that opens up a whole new world within our cells. Their   
   study, published in Science, uncovers a vast network of interactions that   
   suggest how cells adjust in real time to withstand stresses on our health.   
      
   "We're discovering how nature has evolved to 'drug' its own proteins   
   and pathways," says Jared Rutter, Ph.D., distinguished professor in   
   the Department of Biochemistry at University of Utah and the study's   
   corresponding author. "By following nature's lead, we're learning how   
   to make better therapeutics."  These findings -- and the technology that   
   made them possible -- has become the basis for the biotechnology company   
   Atavistik Bio, co-founded by Rutter. The company is leveraging this   
   new understanding to accelerate drug discovery for metabolic diseases   
   and cancer.   
      
   At a more fundamental level, Rutter says, the advance deepens knowledge   
   about how cells and our bodies work.   
      
   A New Frontier The network described in the study represents an   
   underappreciated layer of regulation in cells that comes from an   
   unexpected source. For nearly 20 years, Rutter's lab has researched   
   metabolism, the chemical reactions that produce energy and build essential   
   components to keep cells running smoothly. Their new research finds that   
   intermediate products of those chemical reactions are more than passive   
   building blocks and sources of fuel for cells, as had long been thought.   
      
   Instead, these intermediate products, along with other metabolites,   
   make up an expansive web of sentries that monitor the environment and   
   prompt cells to adapt when needed. They do this by interacting with   
   proteins and modifying how they work. Does a big meal pump too many   
   carbs in the body? Or too much fat?  Like a railroad switch that guides   
   a train onto a new track, these protein- metabolite interactions shift   
   metabolic operations to break down those nutrients and steady the course.   
      
   The study's first author Kevin Hicks, Ph.D., developed a new technology,   
   termed MIDAS, that reveals the enormity of the regulatory network that   
   acts as an interface between environmental cues and cell metabolism,   
   called the protein- metabolite interactome. The highly sensitive technique   
   identified interactions that had never been seen. An analysis of 33   
   human proteins involved in converting carbohydrates into fuel found 830   
   interactions with metabolites.   
      
   Given that there are thousands of proteins in the cell, the full scale   
   of the network is predicted to be much larger.   
      
   "It's surprising how little we know about the extent of these   
   interactions," Hicks says. "We are pushing our understanding of the   
   biological network in new directions."  Metabolic processes that become   
   derailed can lead to illness and disease.   
      
   Rutter and Hicks say that shedding light on additional interactions in the   
   network will lead to a better understanding of root causes of diseases   
   -- and the development of new therapeutic approaches for getting things   
   back on track.   
      
       * RELATED_TOPICS   
             o Health_&_Medicine   
                   # Stem_Cells # Fitness # Pharmacology # Human_Biology   
             o Plants_&_Animals   
                   # Biotechnology # Biology #   
                   Biotechnology_and_Bioengineering # Molecular_Biology   
       * RELATED_TERMS   
             o Cells_of_the_stomach o Neurobiology o Health_science o   
             Embryonic_stem_cell o Adult_stem_cell o Veterinary_medicine   
             o Epidemiology o White_blood_cell   
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Story Source: Materials provided by University_of_Utah_Health. Note:   
   Content may be edited for style and length.   
      
      
   ==========================================================================   
   Journal Reference:   
      1. Kevin G. Hicks et al. Protein-metabolite interactomics of   
      carbohydrate   
         metabolism reveal regulation of lactate dehydrogenase. Science,   
         2023 DOI: 10.1126/science.abm3452   
   ==========================================================================   
      
   Link to news story:   
   https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/03/230313191403.htm   
      
   --- up 1 year, 2 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes   
    * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)   
   SEEN-BY: 15/0 106/201 114/705 123/120 153/7715 226/30 227/114 229/110   
   SEEN-BY: 229/111 112 113 307 317 400 426 428 470 664 700 292/854 298/25   
   SEEN-BY: 305/3 317/3 320/219 396/45   
   PATH: 317/3 229/426