Proteins are the ‘workhorses’ in every living cell and constitute the chemical basis of life. These little machines are required to turn food into energy, to manage motion and brain activities and to fight off bacteria and viruses. The function of proteins is tightly controlled in response to changing conditions, when for instance an organism encounters stress and needs to adapt. Researchers recently discovered a completely novel group of proteins that functions as a switch to regulate biological activity. Now they have analyzed all known protein structures and it turns out that this group exists in all domains of life, in viruses and bacteria as well as in fungi, plants and animals, including humans. These findings have far-ranging implications for the treatment of many diseases. The results were published in Nature Chemical Biology.
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Source: ScienceDaily