Catching the scuttle on the cell

For many proteins, particular proteolysis occasions are key to their feature. This extends to the cell ground, where proteolysis of cell ground proteins can again watch over communication between cells. There are a whole lot of uncover how to isolate N-terminal peptides derived from proteolytic cleavage, but existing systems enact no longer effectively detect cleavage of cell ground proteins. Weeks et al. started with an enzyme called subtiligase, a tool developed to vary N termini, and fused it to a transmembrane domain to diagram it to the cell ground (subtiligase-TM). The subtiligase biotinylates the N termini, that will perhaps per chance per chance then be isolated and sequenced by mass spectrometry. This methodology could perhaps per chance per chance furthermore be extinct for figuring out therapeutic targets and biomarkers.

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 118, e2018809118 (2021).