ERC Proof of Concept Grant: MMC
Membrane Micro-Compartments
Investigator: Martin Beck
Project Period: 2024–2025
Objective:
More than two-thirds of all described drug targets are membrane proteins, but only for a small fraction of these hydrophobic proteins the structure is currently known. Membrane proteins are inherently challenging to produce and analyze. Consequently, in pre-clinical investigations their mechanism and drug interactions are often only derived from purified truncated parts of these proteins, taken out of their native biological context. Lacking the effects of surrounding membrane components, conclusions on drug mechanisms are indecisive. Recent advances in in situ structure determination techniques, i.e. analysis directly within the cellular environment, now have the power to overcome the limitations of classical reconstituted approaches.
Within the scope of this project, the team aims to further develop their system that may facilitate structural analysis of membrane protein drug targets and transfer it into pharmaceutically relevant cell systems. The vision of this iniative is to transform the methods on how drug - membrane protein interactions can be studied, and could be exploited for drug development in the pharmaceutical industry.