News Release

Nature Protocols Article Cites HemogloBind^TM in Drug Target Identification Methods for Malaria-parasite Infected Erythrocytes

MONMOUTH JUNCTION, NJ, April 30, 2020 -- Biotech Support Group reports on a research article published in Nature Protocols, describing the simplicity and efficiency of their hemoglobin depletion technology to survey the red cell proteome, to identify drug-target interactions in Malaria-parasite infected erythrocytes.

The citation is:

Dziekan, Jerzy Michal, et al. "Cellular thermal shift assay for the identification of drug–target interactions in the Plasmodium falciparum proteome." Nature Protocols (2020): 1-41.

The authors describe how little is known about the cellular targets and the mode of action of the vast majority of antimalarial drugs. The cellular thermal shift assay (CETSA) protocol presents a comprehensive strategy for the identification of drug targets. CETSA enables proteome-wide target screening for unmodified antimalarial compounds with undetermined mechanisms of action, providing quantitative evidence about direct drug–protein interactions. The experimental workflow involves treatment of P. falciparum–infected erythrocytes with a compound of interest, heat exposure to denature proteins, soluble protein isolation, enzymatic digestion, peptide labeling with tandem mass tags, offline fractionation, and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analysis. The protocols present workflows for parasitized cell enrichment and hemoglobin depletion strategies for both lysate and intact-cell sample preparation, that are compatible with the CETSA assay and provide satisfactory coverage of both parasite and RBC proteomes from the digested peptide analyses.

The article states “The intact-cell CETSA protocol features a HemogloBind- based sample processing step, which provides a relatively fast, reliable and inexpensive method to deplete >90% of hemoglobin from processed intact-cell samples. As a result, it leads to a 40-50% increase in the number of peptide spectrum matches (PSMs) for P. falciparum and non-hemoglobin human proteins.”. The article concludes with methodological optimizations necessary for the analysis of this intracellular parasite, including hemoglobin depletion strategies to overcome high hemoglobin abundance in the host red blood cells.

“I am very pleased to see that our product - HemogloBind^TM was an enabling technology in this drug target identification workflow. While the article focused on use for malaria drugs, the discussion describes how the workflow can be generally applied for investigating red cell susceptibility to many stressors at the proteome level. For COVID-19 research, this could include the reduced capacity for red cells to exchange oxygen or the various stressors imposed by the inflammatory response to the virus. Through the adoption of these methods, we hope this will lead to new drugs for many diseases”, states Swapan Roy, Ph.D., President and Founder of Biotech Support Group.

For more information on HemogloBind™, visit:

https://www.biotechsupportgroup.com/HemogloBind-Hemoglobin-Depletion-From-Hemolyzed-p/h0145.htm

For more information on all of our Hemoglobin removal products, visit:
https://www.biotechsupportgroup.com/Articles.asp?ID=452

About Biotech Support Group LLC

Converging with cultural and technological disruptions forthcoming in healthcare, Biotech Support Group develops methods for cost effective and efficient sample prep essential for these expanding markets. Following a tiered business strategy, the company continues its growth in the consumable research products area supporting the rapidly expanding installation of LC-MS instrument and computational infrastructure. For this market, key products include: AlbuVoid™ and AlbuSorb™ for albumin depletion, Cleanascite™ for lipid adsorption, and HemogloBind™ and HemoVoid™ for hemoglobin removal. From these innovations, the company has acquired knowledgebase and biomarker intellectual property assets that support discoveries of protein markers from blood, with special emphasis on early detection and personalized medical decisions for cancer patients. For more information, go to http://www.biotechsupportgroup.com

For Business Development, Contact:
Matthew Kuruc 732-274-2866, mkuruc@biotechsupportgroup.com