Protein Matchmaker May Lead New Gene Therapy to the Altar

摘要

An ancient molecular weapon, devised by a lowly bacterium to fight off fungi and other competitors for scarce nutrients, could become one of the newest additions to the arsenal of drug design and gene therapy. A billion or so years ago, the ancestorsof the soil microbe Streptomyces hygroscopicus evolved the ability to synthesize a molecule that could short-circuit the growth of neighboring organisms. In 1975, scientists isolated this multiringed compound, rapamycin, and found in addition to its antifungal activity that it was a potent immune suppressor. And now they have learned the surprising struc-ture behind this function, which could make rapamycin and related compounds templates for a generation of new medicines.