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 […]

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 […]

Virus-Like Particles: All the Bark, None of the Bite

Globally, there have been over 5 million deaths attributed to COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic. Throughout the ongoing battle against SARS-CoV-2, researchers have been studying the viral lineage and the variants that are emerging as the virus evolves over time. The more opportunities that the virus has to replicate (i.e., the more people […]

A One-Two Punch to Knock Out HIV

Scientists investigating the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have learned much about the retrovirus’s lifecycle, but their ultimate goals were to discover a cure and prevent infection. In the decades since HIV was discovered, basic research and pharmaceutical drug development have expanded the antiviral toolbox, but these HIV treatments do not provide a functional cure, only […]

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 […]

Bringing Cutting Edge Technologies to Academic Researchers Through the Academic Access Program

This post was written by guest blogger Iain Ronald, Director Academic/Government Market Segment at Promega.My back story is similar to most of you reading this blog, high school education, undergraduate degree then onto a postgraduate degree. However, over 25 years ago during my undergraduate study, I was fortunate enough to work in the lab of […]

How Promega Helped Our Lab Scale Up Drug Discovery for Bloodborne Pathogens

This blog was written by Sebastien Smick, Research Technician in Dr. Jacquin Niles’ laboratory at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Our lab is heavily focused on the basic biology and drug discovery of the human bloodborne pathogen Plasmodium falciparum, which causes malaria. We use the CRISPR/Cas9 system, paired with a TetR protein fused to a […]

Directed Targeted Protein Degradation with Pre-Built HiBiT Cell Lines

Recently, selectively targeting proteins for degradation using the cell’s natural ubiquitin proteasome pathway (UPS) has surfaced as an effective strategy to bypass difficult-to-drug proteins related to diseases like cancer. Using sensitive bioluminescence technology, CRISPR-edited cell lines can facilitate studying popular protein degradation targets. NanoLuc® Luciferase (NLuc) has made biology more accessible than ever (1). Further […]

Oh, The Ways You Can “Glo”

Here at Promega, we have been helping your experiments “Glo” for 30 years by utilizing the sensitivity and wide dynamic range of bioluminescence detection methods. However, we’ve found that many scientists are still more familiar with older techniques like colorimetric or fluorometric detection than with luminescence. This anniversary year we are taking stock of all […]