6 October 2014

The laboratory of a Sherbrooke professor and researcher, Christine Lavoie, has identified a new function of G proteins that promises advances in the development of new drugs.

G proteins are molecules located inside cells. They are involved in transmitting signals inside the cells through G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) found on the external surface of cells. G proteins also enable cells to react to the signals sent by the surrounding micro-environment, for example by releasing active substances, a phenomenon known as cellular signalling.

However, many diseases such as cancer and AIDS just happen to be caused by a defect in this process. Concurrently, almost half of all drugs prescribed in Canada act on G protein-coupled receptors.

Thanks to the research of her team, Christine Lavoie, Professor at the Université de Sherbrooke’s Department of Pharmacology and Researcher at the Centre de recherche du CHUS and the Institut de pharmacologie de Sherbrooke, has demonstrated the role of G proteins in GPCR trafficking and elimination.

This discovery could lead to improvements in numerous pharmacological treatments, particularly against AIDS and twenty-some types of cancer.

The discovery was published in the journal Nature Communications in August 2014.

» Read the article in Nature Communications

Source: Université de Sherbrooke