Scientists who study how proteins assemble and fold into distinct shapes will soon see shape-shifting in the very methods they use thanks to a partnership between Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and Theranostech Inc. Theranostech will package the "Split GFP" reagents, part of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) Toolbox developed by Los Alamos biochemist Geoffrey Waldo. The Toolbox provides researchers with an improved, more flexible, cost-effective, and efficient means to analyze proteins. The Toolbox uses green fluorescent protein to measure the quantity and the solubility (a measure of activity) of proteins.
These easy-to-use reagent kits will be sold to academic and noncommercial scientists to research, for example, the molecular conditions that cause Alzheimer's or other diseases involving proteins.
Previously, Waldo distributed hundreds of these tools piecemeal to researchers upon request.
However, he can no longer keep up with the skyrocketing demand, so the partnership, an exclusive license signed in June 2008, will make the tools available for purchase from a commercial vendor. In addition to helping Theranostech diversify its product portfolio, LANL sees this type of partnership with a small, New Mexicobased company as a valuable investment in the local community that also helps LANL scientists market their discoveries.
LANL sees the potential for a stronger future relationship with Theranostech. Los Alamos also has separate GFP Toolbox licenses for in-house use with large pharmaceutical companies directly involved in protein research and pharmaceutical development.
Waldo engineered Split GFP so that it doesn't require a lot of expensive equipment and doesn't alter protein behavior. "Split GFP is the easiest to use and most stable in-vitro protein assay kit in the world right now," said Waldo.
Another incarnation of the Split GFP system—the so-called in-vivo Split GFP assay—allows characterization of proteins in living cells, a major breakthrough that could shed light on problems that have perplexed protein researchers for years.
For example, Split GFP used in vivo to monitor factors affecting aggregation of tau protein in neurons, will pave the way for similar work on other diseases of protein aggregation, or clumping, such as Alzheimer's.
With such fertile ground, plans are underway to release a kit-ready form of the in-vivo Split GFP assay for use in multiple types of cells, as well as an optimized version for screening protein expression in living bacteria such as E. coli, the workhorse used by many to express recombinant proteins.
A major advantage of the LANL Split GFP technology is that, unlike other protein assay kits, it can be used in both the test tube and in living cells. With these tools, scientists can move seamlessly from living cells to the test tube without skipping a beat.
