Fibroblast growth factor FGF2-STAB, which was developed at MUNI, has now been patented, not just in Europe but also in Singapore, with patent proceedings also ongoing in a number of other countries. The patent is shared between Masaryk University and the university spin-off ‘Enantis’, which is in charge of the commercial use of the growth factor molecule. The discovery will have applications in cell biology, regenerative medicine and cosmetics.
As you may have read in the Magazine ‘M’, fibroblast growth factors are proteins that support cell growth and division. Researchers from Masaryk University not only managed to discover and describe the key properties of the FGF2 protein, they were also able to stabilise the factor thanks to protein engineering.
Protein engineering modifications to FGF2 lasted three years and focused on the thermodynamic stability of the protein. “We gradually exchanged some amino acids in its structure for others, introducing so-called point mutations. Through this process, we strengthened interactions between the amino acids, thereby increasing the overall robustness of the protein. We mastered the design of mutations and their construction quickly, but then followed a long period of testing their effect on FGF2 biological activity. We had to be very careful not to damage the protein, so we tested each of the thousands of protein variants individually", added David Bednář from the Loschmidt Laboratories, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University.
Professor Jana Klánová received a prestigious award from the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic (TAČR) during the celebration of its 15th anniversary, which took place on Thursday, November 7th, in the historic building of the National Museum in Prague. The award recognizes her long-term contribution...
Brno, the city where Gregor Mendel laid the foundations of genetics, became the European centre of synthetic biology last week. From the 6th to the 8th of November, Brno’s planetarium hosted the prestigious Applied Synthetic Biology in Europe VII conference, focusing on the practical applications of...
