Innovative Approach to Protein Synthesis Funded by $2 Million Grant

The National Institutes of Health's Maximizing Investigators' Research Award (MIRA) program for established investigators has awarded Rice University chemist Han Xiao with nearly a $2 million grant.

With very few exceptions, all organisms synthesize proteins using the 20 standard amino acids. Xiao's research uses noncanonical amino acids (ncAAs) with a variety of properties to aid in the construction of proteins to precisely manipulate biological systems by reprogramming the genetic code.

Xiao hopes to advance the use of non-covalent amino acids (ncAAs) in studies examining the dynamics and structure of proteins.

This innovative approach could revolutionize how we understand and control cellular functions.”

Han Xiao, Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator and Associate Professor, Chemistry, Rice University

Han Xiao is also the Director of Rice’s Synthesis X Center and a Cancer Prevention & Research Institute of Texas Scholar

With the help of the five-year grant, Xiao will create novel cells that can biosynthesize and use ncAAs. Xiao will also investigate the possibility of using these cells as in vivo sensors for enzymes involved in posttranslational modifications (PTMs).

PTMs play a crucial role in controlling cell biology. The "writers" and "erasers," or enzymes that add and remove PTMs, are major causes of several diseases, including neurological disorders and cancer.

The techniques used today to identify these enzyme activities, like mass spectrometry, western blot, and fluorescence analysis, are only applicable in lab environments. The goal of Xiao's research is to create methods for tracking these activities in living things.

Our goal is to create eukaryotic cells that can produce proteins with PTM handles, enabling real-time monitoring of enzyme activities.”

Han Xiao, Norman Hackerman-Welch Young Investigator and Associate Professor, Chemistry, Rice University

These modified cells offer important new information about the efficacy of epigenetic inhibitors in living subjects, which may lead to the development of novel therapeutic approaches.