UTD Researcher Creates Synthetic Enzymes To Unravel Molecular Mysteries

Dr. P.C. Dave P. Dingal uses zebrafish to better understand how developmental signaling is coordinated in animal embryos. Zebrafish are ideal models for observing signaling proteins because of their similarity with the human genome and their size.

A University of Texas at Dallas bioengineer has developed synthetic enzymes that can control the behavior of the signaling protein Vg1, which plays a key role in the development of muscle, bone and blood in vertebrate embryos. The team of researchers is using a new approach, called the Synthetic Processing (SynPro) system, in zebrafish to study how Vg1 is formed. By learning the molecular rules of signal formation in a developing animal, researchers aim to engineer mechanisms — such as giving cells new instructions — that could play a role in treating or preventing disease.

“We’re interested in how synthetic enzymes might be used to control natural proteins, including disease-causing proteins,” Dingal said. “Our hope is to build biological circuits that, ultimately, we can introduce into cells and imbue them with new functions, like being able to detect cancer or resolve cellular disorders at the molecular level.”