SCILLS - The Scottish Institute for Cell Signalling

SCILLS is dedicated to the study of how biological processes are controlled and how they become deregulated in disease. The Protein Ubiquitination Unit is the Institute’s first research Division. Its major aims are to advance understanding of the role of protein ubiquitination and related modifications in cell regulation and human disease, to facilitate the development of drugs to treat diseases caused by abnormalities in this process, to generate reagents and improve technologies on which more rapid progress in this area depends, and to train the next generation of scientists who will advance the subject.

Protein Production and Assay Development

The Protein Production and Assay Development Team (PPADT) is responsible for the production of the protein reagents that are required by the Programme Leaders in SCILLS and for commercialisation by Ubiquigent Ltd. The PPADT is also setting up assays and thereby testing the activities of the enzymes that we produce. In detail: we produce the small modifiers such as ubiquitin, SUMO, NEDD8 and so forth, the E1 activating enzymes, the E2 conjugating enzymes, the E3 ligases and the Deubiquitylases (DUBs). Furthermore, we produce ubiquitin chains and a variety of ubiquitin receptors. The team has 4 members comprising two postdocs, with experience in enzymology and protein expression / purification, and two production technicians.