Microprotein malfunction may cause major diseases: Study

Researchers have discovered that a microprotein called PIGBOS found in the powerhouse of the cells -- mitochondria -- contributes to mitigating stress happening within the cells -- an advance that may lead to better understanding of disease conditions like cancer.

The researchers, including those from the Salk Institute in the US, said that while an average protein molecule present in the human body has around 300 chemical units called amino acids, the microproteins had fewer than 100 of the building blocks.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, noted that PIGBOS was made of 54 amino acid molecules, and indicated that the microprotein could be a target for cell stress based human diseases like cancer and neurodegeneration.

Usually to track and find the functions of proteins, researchers attach a jelly fish derived probe called the green fluorescent protein (GFP) to them, which glows and indicates the protein's presence in cells, the study noted.

However, the ...