Behind the Scenes at Promega with the Brazil Young Researchers Award Winners

“What I’ve learned in science is that we don’t do things alone. Everything is connected,” says Marcos da Silva Regueira Neto. Marcos is a post-doctoral research at the Federal University of Pernambuco in Recife, Brazil. His project is part of a large interdisciplinary study, so he is no stranger to collaboration and welcomes opportunities to […]

CCNE1-Amplified Cancers Targeted Through Synthetic Lethality Involving PKMYT1 Kinase

For cancers that have proven challenging to target with traditional therapies, one emerging option is an approach called synthetic lethality. Synthetic lethality arises when inactivation of two gene products together lead to cell death but where inactivation of one does not (1, 2). Targeting a gene that is synthetic lethal to a cancer-related mutation creates […]

Promega Highlights Innovative Work with Brazil Young Researcher Award

In late May 2022, Promega invited the nine finalists for the Promega Brazil Young Researcher Award to present their work at a Student Research Symposium on the Promega Madison campus. The Brazil Young Researcher Award program was created to acknowledge exceptional work by Brazilian students utilizing Promega products in their research. These student researchers were […]

Study Reveals New Strategies for Targeting “Undruggable” KRAS Mutants

A new study published in Nature Chemical Biology shows that the most commonly mutated protein in cancer might not be as “undruggable” as previously believed. Promega R&D scientists collaborated with the research group led by Kevan Shokat at the University of California – San Francisco to develop strategies for targeting mutants of KRAS that have […]

PROTACs: Just the FAQs

While PROTACs might not be the topic of conversation at high society cocktail parties, or merit cover stories in glamor magazines, they’re certainly shaking up the drug discovery industry. PROTAC® degraders, together with related compounds like molecular glues and LYTACs, are the basic tools for a targeted protein degradation strategy. Research in this field is […]

Using Structural Computation Models to Predict Productive PROTAC Ternary Complexes

With use and time things wear out. Tires get worn on a car, and you have the old tires removed, recycled, and replaced with new ones. Sometimes a part or piece of something isn’t made properly. For instance, if you are assembling a piece of furniture and you find a screw with no threads, you […]

GPCRs and PROTACs: New Approaches for Designing More Effective Drug Candidates

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) comprise a large group of cell surface receptors, characterized by the unique structural property of crossing the cell membrane seven times. They respond to a diverse group of signaling molecules, such as peptides, neurotransmitters, cytokines, hormones and other small molecules (1). Upon activation, GPCRs interact with GTP-binding (G) proteins and arrestins […]

Permeability Possibilities with the New NanoClick Assay

Peptide Predicament For decades now, peptides have been a molecule of interest for drug discovery research. Peptides offer a unique opportunity for therapeutic intervention that closely mimics natural pathways, as many physiological functions utilize peptides as intrinsic signaling molecules. Macrocyclic peptides, in particular, have recently proven to be promising candidates for targeting intracellular protein–protein interactions […]

RIPK1: Promising Drug Target of Chronic Inflammatory Diseases

Today’s post is written by Michael Curtin, Senior Product Manager, Reporters and Signaling. Inflammation is a defense mechanism that the body employs in which the immune system recognizes and removes harmful and foreign stimuli and begins the healing process. Inflammation can be either acute or chronic. Chronic inflammation is also referred to as slow, long-term […]

HPK1 Identified as Emerging Immuno-oncology Drug Target

Antibody-based immune checkpoint inhibitors remain a major focus of immuno-oncology drug research and development efforts because of their recent success in providing long-term anti-tumor responses. However, the range of response of different tumor types to these drugs is hugely varied. Small molecule kinase inhibitors that block signaling pathways involved in regulation of tumor immunity at […]