Researchers at the Pacific Northwest Research laboratory develop action based probe technique

According to an article published Monday on Phys.org, researchers at the Pacific Northwest Research Laboratory developed a new tool called an action based probe (ABP) that allows scientists to see processes occurring in living cells.

This image is from the primary article available at Wiley.com from the journal Angewandte Chemie (International Edition) and shows the movement of the enzymes within the cell. 

The technique allows fluorescent tags to enter the lysosome and trace only active forms of the cathepsins, a group of cysteine proteases (cysteine-cutting enzymes). Cysteine is an amino acid with a terminal sulfur hydryl (sulfur and hydrogen) group, and proteases digest proteins and their components for recycling in the cell. Thus, if the cathepsins malfunction, a cell cannot digest proteins containing cysteine.

In the particular case of studying cathepsins, this technique can be used to analyze certain types of cancer associated with the malfunction of this family of enzymes.

This new technique has several other applications, especially if active enzyme-specific tags can be developed for a series of enzymes that cause other diseases and symptoms. It will allow scientists to see not just when enzymes are present and working, but also detect when they are lacking or malfunctioning.