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HEC-BC
Funded Link on Bio-Nanotechnology
Partner Institutions:
Pakistan: LUMS SSE (Drs. S. Khan,
K. Afridi, T. Butt)
U.K: National Institute for Medical
Research (Drs J. Molloy, C. Veigel,
D.R. Trentham)
Bio-nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary
field that uses nanoscale measurement
methodologies to
solve medical problems. We are investigating
lesions in the motor protein, myosinVI,
that cause
Usher's syndrome (a combined hearing/vision
disorder). This disorder is prevalent
in Pakistani populations from the
Saraiki belt. Actin filaments rendered
fluorescent by chemical modification
are
imaged in the optical microscope by
cameras with required photon sensitivity
and spatial resolution and their translocation
over a bed of myosin molecules adsorbed
onto coverglass recorded
(Movie 1). We have found
that myosin motors drive long-range
orientation of actin filaments using
this methods (see Butt et al. 2010).
Information from such in vitro motility
assays is combined with information
on cellular functions of the mysoins
carrying the mutant lesions and fused
with variants of green flurescent
protein. A major focus of our recent
work has been the development of computer
algorithms for quantitative measures
and simulations of intracellular movements
as well as in vitro motility of the
tagged myosin molecules in real time.
The imaging effort is combined with
molecular modeling studies of the
effect of the altered amino acid residues
on myosinVI atomic structure (Figure
1) shows head domain of the myosin
VI molecule
with ADP (centre) and one residue
(216E) displayed in space-filling
CPK representation).and ongoing clinical
diagnoses of the affected Pakistani
families carrying the myosin VI lesions.
Trainees
Past: Ms Asma Amjad. Ph.D
Program in Cellular Neuroscience.
SISSA. ITALY
Mr Ahmad Humayun. MS Program in Computer
Science. University College, London.
UK
Present: Ms Mayida Azhar, Mr Muhammad
Sheraz
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