When ulcers grow and wounds heal, there is increased collagen formation. An enzyme called LOX is required for this process. Researchers at the Laboratory for Organic Chemistry at ETH Zurich have developed a sensor molecule that begins to fluoresce as soon as it has reacted with the LOX enzyme. The sensor molecule is therefore a marker for LOX activity.
Professor Helma Wennemers’ team then linked this molecule with a short, thread-like peptide that is similar to collagen. They equipped this peptide with a so-called reactive group that only reacts with oxidized collagen. The peptide localizes the docking point, as it were, where the sensor molecule lights up as soon as something happens.
This biological marker worked both after injection into living mice and in the Petri dish with human tissue.
Helps surgeons with precise tumor removal
Because new tissue is formed primarily at the tumor margins as tumors grow, the new molecule can be used to make the edges of the tumor visible when examining biopsies, for example. “One of our visions is that surgeons will one day be able to use this molecule directly on the operating table while removing a tumor,” says Wennemers. The molecule would show the surgeon the edge of the tumor and help to “catch” the tumor completely.
Other possible applications of the new marker molecule relate to wound healing, such as research into tissue formation in principle or healing disorders in diabetes and other diseases.
Already awarded a prize
The scientists have filed a patent for the system. They are currently exploring various options for bringing it to market maturity or further developing it for additional applications.
For this research work, which has now been published for the first time in a specialist journal, the researchers received the Spark Award from ETH Zurich last year.
* Specialized publication number DOI: 10.1038 / s41589-021-00830-6
Video: https://youtu.be/fKmNR7XpWtk
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