USA - Studies of protein N-terminal acetyltransferases: potentially important human enzymes in medicine.

The present project is rooted in the clinical work of professor J. E. Varhaug at the Endocrinology/ Surgery Section at Haukeland Hospital and the collaboration with professor J. R. Lillehaug was initiated twenty years ago. This form the basis for a multid isiplinary research collaboration between the Department of Surgical Sciences and the Department of Molecular Biology, UoB. During the last couple of years we have discovered a novel family of human enzymes, protein N-terminal acetyltransferases (NATs), with many interesting features in a clinical perspective. Almost every human protein undergo protein N-terminal acetylation, but the functional and biological consequences of this modification have only been briefly studied in human cells. At present, the research group of Professors Varhaug and Lillehaug working on NAT-related issues include two technicians, one PostDoc, two PhD students and four Master students. In order to strengthen our position and achieve our goals we intend to expand our collaborat ive network. First and foremost, we would like to initiate collaboration with the lab of Professor Fred Sherman, University of Rochester, Rochester, USA. This is the leading group in the field of protein N-terminal acetylation and N-terminal acetyltransfe rases (NATs). For 20 years, this group has made important contributions to the NAT-field and has built a considerable platform of knowledge and technology. The knowledge on this scientific field is very incomplete, and this collaboration would gather the majority of the active scientist working on this field throughout the world. It is expected that a more detailed study of the human NAT enzymes will generate very important knowledge, both in a basic biochemical/biological research perspective, but also in a clinical/pharmaceutical perspective given the links to hormonal regulation, cancer and Alzheimers disease.