LaFayette, N.Y. — Ichor Life Sciences, a premium preclinical contract research organization offering services in discovery through pharmacology, provided advanced technical assistance and scientific expertise for a research project on protein nanopore development and early disease detection. Ichor’s chief science officer, Dr. Aaron Wolfe, PhD, designed the research and participated in a peer-reviewed article on the project, “Disentangling the recognition complexity of a protein hub using a nanopore,” which appeared in a recent edition of Nature Communications.

The paper covers the development and validation of a protein nanopore for the detection and quantification of WD40 report protein (WDR5), a chromatin-associated hub involved in epigenetic regulation of histone methylation. The nanopore sensor utilized was equipped with a 14-residue win motif of mixed lineage leukemia 4 methyltransferase (MLL4Win), a WDR5 ligand.

The article describes the approach, which revealed a broad dynamic range of MLL4win-WDR5 interactions and three distant subpopulations of biding events, representing three modes of protein recognition. It also details the three binding events that are confirmed as specific interactions using a weakly binding WDR5 derivative and various environmental contexts.

“Unlike other tools for the biophysical analysis, we can detect individual proteins, allowing for more information in extremely small sample volumes. The implication of this work for the field of protein diagnostics is unparalleled,” says Wolfe. “Working with the Movileanu Group at Syracuse University is a pleasure. Their team really knows how to execute extremely difficult projects quickly, making it a perfect collaboration for Ichor.”

“We’re pleased to lend our world-class facilities and renowned scientific expertise to important projects such as this,” says Dr. Kelsey Moody, PhD, MBA, CEO, Ichor Life Sciences. “As a company that is driven by a culture of innovation, Ichor Life Sciences is committed to supporting PhD candidates, both in our own PhD programs at Clarkson University and also in collaborations like this with the Movileanu Group at Syracuse University, in their scientific and research endeavors.”

Read the Nature article here