It’s a one in a million image – a world-first 3D rendering of a protein that holds a key to the spread of many cancers, and Gold Coast researchers are behind the famous ‘photo’.
In an ‘Insta’ age, capturing this unique image called for plenty of patience – it took ten years research to put the particular protein known as Heparanase in the frame using x-ray crystallography and now scientists internationally are lauding the breakthrough by Director of Griffith University’s Institute for Glycomics Professor Mark von Itzstein and his team.
It’s all in a day’s (but actually many years) hard work for the innovative research institute that is the only one of its kind in Australia and boasts an enviable record of achieving highly competitive funding through the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC).
This year saw it achieve a 41 percent success rate for its most funding proposals, compared to the average success rate of just 13 percent. The Institute, which boasts 180 staff, was awarded almost $4.2 million for five projects and two research fellowships.
“We have always achieved well-above the average when it comes to grant success with NHMRC. It is phenomenal and speaks to the calibre of research and the scientists we have been able to attract from all around the world,” says a delighted Professor von Itzstein, who is a fellow of the Australian Academy of Sciences.
Glycomics aims to unravel the information system or language of carbohydrates, in the same way that genomics is unravelling the code to the human genome.
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From breakthrough photo to cancer drug development
The famous image, which was shared with the scientific community via the prestigious journal Nature Chemical Biology in November, is actually of the protein present in a bacteria – but this same enzyme is known to spread cancer in humans too and until now scientists have been ‘best guessing’ what it looked like.
With this new knowledge they aim to develop a so-called ‘plug drug’ – a drug that will inhibit the protein from helping cancer establish and spread.
“It’s exciting because this same protein works to spread lots of different types of cancer, “explains Professor von Itzstein. “Early cancers can often by treated successfully through surgery, it is when they spread that they do so much damage.”
3D image of Heparanase protein, close up
3D image of Heparanase protein, wide view
Professor Mark von Itzstein, Institute for Glycomics
Professor Michael Good, NHMRC Australia Fellow, Principal Research Leader, Institute for Glycomcis
Infectious diseases also being targeted
As exciting as the cancer protein development is, it is just one aspect of research in the multi-disciplinary institute – perhaps the most promising breakthrough is the malaria vaccine candidate that is currently in human clinical trials in partnership with the Gold Coast University Hospital.
First results are due to be published soon by Principal Research Leader Professor Michael Good, who also has a promising vaccine candidate against the Strep infection, and Professor von Itzstein says they ‘remain optimistic’.
“In parallel to the trials they are also working on a second generation vaccine. This is what it’s all about – translational research, or getting stuff into humans.”
While the Institute is also doing ‘blue sky’ discovery research aimed at fighting viruses and mosquito-borne diseases as well as infections and cancers, the ultimate aim is to bring to reality human drugs and vaccines through projects like those of research leader and NHMRC Career Development Fellow Dr Kate Seib.
Some of these bacteria reproduce every half an hour as they morph over time into different strains so we are trying to keep on top of these changes.
Dr Kate Seib - Research Leader
“Our projects are looking at different bacteria that uniquely target humans,” says Dr Seib. “The first project looks at pathogens that cause Meningococcal disease and also Gonorrhoea – very different diseases, but the bacteria are from the same family so a greater understanding of one helps us more closely understand the other.”
“The other project investigates bacteria that cause middle ear infections in young children and also exacerbate chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in adults which decreases lung function and can lead to lung failure.”
“Some of these bacteria reproduce every half an hour as they morph over time into different strains so we are trying to keep on top of these changes.”
For Dr Seib, the research carries on from her early career work with an international drug company in Italy.
“It is great to see young women such as Kate and fellow grant recipient Dr Lara Herrero enjoying such success, as we always need more women in science,” says Professor von Itzstein.
Dr Kate Seib, Research Leader, with PhD student
Dr Chris Davis, General Manager, Griffith Institute for Glycomics
Dr Lara Herrero, Griffith Institute for Glycomics, Tall Poppy Science Award winner
Dr Ali Zaid, Institute for Glycomics
Glycomics – the brave new frontier in fighting disease
The role of proteins in diseases is ‘relatively’ simple to investigate, but at the heart of the Institute’s research is cracking the carbohydrate or glyco code.
Carbohydrates ‘decorate’ or literally ‘sugar coat’ the surface of every cell in our bodies, helping our healthy cells to function, explains Professor von Itzstein.
“The ‘language’ of carbohydrates is thousands of times more complex than the ‘language’ of proteins, but we know that viruses and bacteria know how to latch on to sugars and so infect cells – we’ve got to understand how carbohydrates are used to enable infection so we can lock down the process, and that’s very complex.”
It’s been a career focus for Professor von Itzstein since he led the research group behind the world-first anti-flu drug Relenza (and appeared on the cover of Time magazine for his discovery), before being lured back to Griffith to establish the institute in 2000.
“We had a handful of scientists in a demountable building and now we have 180 staff including internationally regarded researchers working across the fields of chemistry, biology, biophysics and computational science. We are probably the most integrated glyco-science institute in the world.”
It is amazing to think what has been achieved in just 15 short years – which could be described as the equivalent of 12 months in ‘drug discovery’ time.
The Institute continues to attract new talent – the latest being Dr Ali Zaid, who has joined Griffith to lead a project on Ross River Fever also funded by NHRMC. He’s one of only a handful of scientists with the skills and knowledge to capture real-time images of viruses and observe the life and immune response deep within living tissue.
And the private funds are also flowing, with the recent launch of an ambitious new ‘Super Science” four-year research project funded by a $2.54 million donation from the Chris O’Brien Lifehouse Cancer Centre in which tissue samples and comprehensive clinical metadata from the centre’s patients will be sent to the Institute for analysis using cutting edge technology.
“We continue to expand our skills while honing our focus. It really is a brave new frontier.”
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