Previous Interpro Protein Focus Articles
focusYou can still find previous articles published to the InterPro blog in the “protein focus” category. They are archived and available in PDF format from this article.
Bee afraid, bee very afraid - neonicotinoids and the nAChRs family
September 2013
Bees are disappearing! The crisis is spreading around the world! To protect these important pollinators, the EU has proposed restricting the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. But what are neonicotinoids? And why were they chosen as pesticides in the first place? Let’s find out more in this article.
Wilson’s disease and the copper ATPase transporters
April 2013
In the American TV series House, episode ‘The Socratic Method’, a mother seeming to suffer from schizophrenia is admitted to hospital. Let’s find out how House solves this case and how we can use InterPro to know more about the Wilson’s disease protein and its homologues.
Are we really related? The Rad9/Ddc1 family
November 2012
Protein family classification is often achieved using computerised multiple protein sequence alignment and structural analysis. However, it’s not always straightforward to define a protein family. In this article, we will take a look at an example-the Rad9/Ddc1 family.
Relax and unwind: the RecQ DNA helicase family
June 2012
When people go on holiday or travel for a conference, fitting all their clothes, books and a laptop into a small suitcase often presents a challenge. For eukaryotic cells, packing their lengthy genomic DNA into their relatively small nucleus presents a similar challenge.
Killer toxin Protein (KP4): Harnessing the power of a killer toxin for good
September 2011
The yeast killer toxin protein KP4 is currently used in agriculture as a means of protecting plants form fungal infections. There is an ever widening scope of the potential applications of this protein in biotechnology and medicine.
Chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4): diseases, drugs and druggable target molecules
February 2011
Chemokine Receptor type 4 (CXCR4) is of increasing interest as a drug target. This molecule is thought to be involved in many disease states including more than 23 types of cancer and several immunodeficiency disorders.
Collagen: a ubiquitous, unsung protein
January 2009
Collagen is a long, fibrous structural protein that is usually associated with cosmetic enhancements, movie star’s lips and anti-aging lotions. Just as one hopes for these movie stars; there is much more to collagen than what appears on the surface. Collagen is the most abundant protein in mammals.