Orphan ligand receptor deorphanization
Progress in the study of normal biological processes – or in understanding the mechanism of disease – has traditionally been hampered by the immense challenge in identifying the specific binding partners for a natural ligand or pathogen. Often these ‘orphan ligands’ bind to receptors or other types of proteins on the surface of human cells. Months or even years of research time can be lost using standard protein chips or proteomics/mass spec-based approaches to attempt to identify these interactions. Low success rates coupled with the potential for false positives can slow things even further.
Retrogenix cell microarrays are optimised for identifying physiologically-relevant cell surface interactions, vastly increasing the chances of finding a ligand’s receptor in just a matter of weeks. This is facilitating breakthroughs in medical research, including the recent identification of a key receptor involved in severe childhood malaria which was reported in the journal, Nature1.
Versatile across a range of ligands
Retrogenix identifies the cell surface receptors of a wide range of molecules ranging from purified proteins to more complex ligands such as whole cells. Retrogenix can uncover specific human receptors for:
- natural soluble proteins and peptides
- live viruses and virus-like particles (VLPs)
- cell surface-derived ligands (i.e. those mediating cell:cell interactions)
- whole cells expressing the ligand of interest
- parasite-infected red blood cells
- plasma samples from patients
To discuss a receptor identification project with a member of our science team please get in touch.