How To Uncover the Secrets of Disease-Relevant Proteins
Cancer researchers have developed a guide for piecing together the jigsaw puzzle of genome research
To elucidate cellular mechanisms that lead to diseases such as cancer is a big challenge of biomedicine. Scientists of the Division of Molecular Genome Analysis headed by Professor Annemarie Poustka, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), have tackled this complex task and developed a unique guide which enables researchers to identify the function of proteins swiftly and efficiently. In a recently published article in the journal Genome Research*, Dr. Stefan Wiemann and his colleagues have presented this “Functional Pipeline”. In this pipeline, the scientists have compiled a host of data from genome research and show examples of how genes and their proteins work in cellular systems. This comprehensive collection of numerous data leads to concrete information such as whether a protein is involved in the cell cycle and, thus, may also be associated with cancer. The project was funded by the Research Ministry (BMBF) within the framework of the National Genome Research Network.
Deciphering the human genome was only the beginning. Researchers are now faced with the task of identifying the existing genes and their RNA copies which serve as blueprints for producing proteins. In a next step they need to find out where these proteins work and analyze their actions and interactions with other cellular components. Understanding these complex biological processes will eventually make it possible to distinguish healthy from sick organisms. Therefore, these findings are a prerequesite for developing novel diagnostic and prognostic approaches and new treatments.
Stefan Wiemann and his colleagues are using methods of bioinformatics and genomic databases to compile and evaluate research results and to link these with a variety of data obtained by high-throughput methods. In combination with results from experimental research, such as about the localization of proteins within the cell or activation patterns of genes, so-called expression profiles, this yields a comprehensive collection of currently available information. By providing this knowledge in a public Internet platform at www.dkfz.de/LIFEdb, Wiemann and his colleagues have made a major contribution to our understanding of biological processes in the post genome sequencing era.
*”From ORFeome to Biology: A Functional Genomics Pipeline”, Stefan Wiemann et. al., Genome Research, October 2004; 14(10B):2136-44.
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.
