SAN ANTONIO (June 3, 2013) — Philip Serwer, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry in the School of Medicine at the UT Health Science Center San Antonio, and Elena Wright, research laboratory technician-senior on Dr. Serwer’s staff, contributed to a paper published May 20 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
They provided samples for a procedure called cryo-electron microscopy. With these samples, scientists at Purdue University were able to visualize layered rings of a virus called the T7 bacteriophage. The rings are like numbers on a combination lock; they can rotate relative to one another in many combinations. Thus, not all particles were the same and the study was the first to manage this situation.
Bacteriophages are dolphins of the world of microbes. They are known as friendly viruses. Dr. Serwer’s lab is studying the entry of DNA into the cavity of a protein shell of the T7 bacteriophage. In some conditions, molecules other than DNA can be artificially loaded and tightly sealed. Thus, the shell can possibly be a drug-delivery vehicle. The Purdue-Health Science Center project revealed the structure of the gateway into the shell’s cavity.
“We can control what goes through this gateway and can potentially use the T7 bacteriophage as a transport vehicle for numerous molecules, including anti-cancer drugs,” Dr. Serwer said.
“We have to genetically alter the shell to selectively target cancer cells,” he said.
Wen Jiang, Ph.D., headed the collaborating laboratory at Purdue.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, one of the country’s leading health sciences universities, ranks in the top 3 percent of all institutions worldwide receiving National Institutes of Health funding. The university’s schools of medicine, nursing, dentistry, health professions and graduate biomedical sciences have produced approximately 28,000 graduates. The $736 million operating budget supports eight campuses in San Antonio, Laredo, Harlingen and Edinburg. For more information on the many ways “We make lives better®,” visit www.uthscsa.edu.