The Department's monthly newsletter, bringing you the latest news and updates for the month! Make sure to wear your mask, wash your hands and keep your distance! |
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Neuropeptidomic Analysis of a Genetically Defined Cell Type in Mouse Brain and Pituitary |
We report a method to identify neuropeptides in specific genetically defined cell-types, using mice with a conditional disruption of the gene for carboxypeptidase E (Cpe), an essential neuropeptide-processing enzyme. The loss of Cpe leads to accumulation of neuropeptide precursors containing C-terminal basic residues, which serve as tags for affinity purification. The purified peptides are identified using quantitative peptidomics. This method is sensitive, does not require physical separation of neurons, and can be used to identify peptides in any cell-type based on the availability of Cre recombinase-expressing mouse lines or viruses. Neuropeptides play important roles in physiology and peptide receptors are the target of many drugs in current use. Therefore, identification of cell-type-specific peptides can lead to new therapeutic targets.
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Marta Filizola and Colleagues Published in AIP PUBLISHING!
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Determining the drug-target residence time (RT) is of major interest in drug discovery given its better representation of in vivo drug efficacy than binding affinity. However, obtaining RTs poses significant challenges, both computationally and experimentally. Here, we demonstrate the usefulness of combining enhanced molecular dynamics simulations with artificial intelligence tools to efficiently studying the unbinding kinetics of two classical drugs with different RTs in a prototypic G Protein-Coupled Receptor. Not only are these computations able to predict dissociation rates within one order of magnitude from experimental values, but they also shed light on the structures of rate-limiting transition states, which, alongside metastable poses, are difficult to obtain experimentally but important to visualize when designing drugs with a desired kinetic profile.
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Dr. Jian Jin’s Laboratory Received a Major Grant from DARPA to Create Novel and Safe Psychiatric Medications |
Dr. Jian Jin, the Mount Sinai Endowed Professor in Therapeutics Discovery and Director of the Mount Sinai Center for Therapeutics Discovery, is part of a team of internationally acclaimed scientists who has received a four-year, $26,975,142 cooperative agreement from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) to generate novel and safe medications for rapidly and effectively treating psychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety and substance abuse. The research team led by Dr. Bryan Roth at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hillalso includes Drs. Brian Shoichet and Nevan Kroganat University of California at San Francisco, Drs. Georgios Skiniotis and Ron Dror at Stanford University, and Dr. William Wetsel at Duke University. The team has developed innovative methods and technologies and will utilize them to create and advance novel biased agonists of G protein-coupled receptors as drug candidates. |
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January 14th, 2021 at 11AM
Dr. Amy Newman, Ph.D.
Scientific Director and Senior Investigator
Medicinal Chemistry Section, Molecular Targets and Medications Discovery Branch
National Institute on Drug Abuse-Intramural Research Program
"Designing Bitopic or Bivalent Molecules for
the Treatment of Substance Use Disorders"
Meeting ID: 989 1253 3967
Join Zoom Meeting
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Following the lecture, at 4:40PM
Career Session “WE Lead” with Leading Women Scientists hosted by the DPS SPA Team
Meeting ID: 815 7040 0293
Join Zoom Meeting
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Works in Progress Presented by the DPS SPA
January 21st, 2021 at 11AM
Department Address from Dr. Ming-Ming Zhou
Sherod Haynes - Han Lab
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Ordering New Lab Coats and Cleaning
DPS supplies one lab coat to each new lab member. It is recommended to have two. To order a new coat, please download this form and email it to the Linen Department, copying DPS@mssm.edu. To have your lab coat cleaned, drop it off in either Icahn 16-59 or Annenberg 19-04, and sign in using the binder at the station. Lab coats must be branded with lab, user and carrousel number "97A" (preferably in the inside collar). Please note, cleaning takes about 2 weeks.
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