Dr. Manuel S. Rodríguez, of CIC bioGUNE

CIC biomaGUNE Cooperative Research Centre has reached an agreement to licence the North American biotechnology firm LifeSensors to market a product (TUBEs) which will enable the development of drugs for pathologies involving protein metabolism problems, such as cancer and certain neurodegenerative diseases.

The product, called TUBEs (Tandem-repeated Ubiquitin Binding Entities), has been wholly developed in the laboratory of Dr. Manuel S. Rodríguez, of the Proteomic Unit at CIC bioGUNE, and consists of an innovative, previously non-existent tool which captures and “freezes” ubiquitinated proteins (proteins whose main function is to mark other proteins for destruction) in order to enable the later identification of target proteins of therapeutic interest.

In short, a “molecular trap” has been developed to enable the proteins involved in a pathology to be captured and purified, so that more can be learnt about their functioning in key cellular processes. “It is a tool which is applicable not only to explore cellular processes, but also to develop drugs which have beneficial effects on pathologies such as certain immune and inflammatory diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and different types of cancer,” states Dr. Rodríguez.

The research project is based on a protein degradation pathway known as the ubiquitin-proteasome system (UPS), discovered by the Israeli scientist Aaron Ciechanover, who won a Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004 and visited CIC bioGUNE in 2006.

The biotechnology company LifeSensors specialises in the discovery, development, manufacture and marketing of technologies within the field of UPS proteins. It works with the pharmaceutical sector and other biotechnology companies, as well as institutes and basic research centres. LifeSensors emerged from and collaborates with the prestigious research centre Progenra, a world leader in research into ubiquitin pathways and the discovery of new drugs.