New screening technique paves the way for protein drugs from bacteria
Using the bacterium E. coli, researchers from the University’s Faculty of Engineering showed it was possible to vastly increase the efficiency of the cells producing specifically modified proteins, as well as improve its performance and stability. The modification is present in over two-thirds of human therapeutic drugs on the market and involves the addition of specific sugar groups to the protein backbone, a process termed glycosylation. Drugs based on proteins are increasingly important in modern medicine to tackle health problems including diabetes, cancer and arthritis. …