Takeda Advances Diabetes Research at ALS Scientific Achievement

Takeda Advances Diabetes Research at ALS Scientific Achievement Pharmaceutical company Takeda has implemented a novel technique at the ALS that is helping further their understanding of a key diabetes drug target. Significance and Impact The human receptor protein that Takeda identified as a potential drug target is in a class of proteins that is notoriously difficult to crystallize, but Takeda researchers were able to overcome a number of challenging experimental hurdles. Research Details −In collaboration with the Berkeley Center for Structural Biology, which operates the ALS Sector 5 protein crystallography Artist's rendering of the GPR 40—TAK-875 complex inside beamlines, Takeda scientists implemented raster screening, a the cell membrane. new technique that uses highly collimated x-rays to locate protein crystals. − The structure provided surprising insights into how the receptor and the drug interact with each other. A. Srivastava, J. Yano, Y. Hirozane, G. Kefala, F. Gruswitz, G. Snell, W. Lane, A. Ivetac, K. Aertgeerts, J. Nguyen , A. Jennings, and K. Okada, Nature 513, 124 (2014). Work was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, ALS Beamline 5. 0. 3. The operation of the ALS is supported by the U. S. Department of Energy, Office of Basic Energy Sciences. http: //www-als. lbl. gov/index. php/science-highlights/industry-als/1018