Kristina Djinović-Carugo receives "Laura Bassi Center of Expertise" to develop new methods for production and crystallisation of proteins

Proteins are macromolecules involved in all major cellular functions. They act as molecular "machines", and are responsible for important processes such as nutrient transport, muscle contraction, cell division and signal transduction, but are also involved in diseases. To fully understand their function, the investigation of their three-dimensional structure is combined with functional studies. These studies demand a very high quality of the investigated protein. Only a high amount of pure protein samples lead to revealing results. "Production and purification of the protein on the one hand, but also finding the perfect conditions for crystallisation on the other hand require time and labour intensive experiments", says Kristina Djinović-Carugo, Professor for Structural Biology at the University of Vienna and Head of the Laura Bassi Center for Optimised Structural Studies (COSS).

Accelerated production and crystallisation of proteins
Djinović-Carugo of the Max F. Perutz Laboratories and her COSS project partners Peggy Stolt-Bergner and Jan-Michael Peters of the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) and Markus Hanner of the Intercell AG, all located at the Campus Vienna Biocenter, focus on the development of new methods to accelerate the screening and production of proteins in the quality and quantity required. Peggy Stolt-Bergner, IMP: “In our approach, we already screen for mutations on the DNA level, smaller and bigger pieces of DNA, of which the most appropriate will then lead to more stable proteins with a higher propensity to crystallise." The resulting proteins are then tested in a small-scale microfluidic crystallisation set-up, with only 2 microlitres of protein used for the testing of 100 crystallisation conditions varying in time, temperature and acidic components. The narrowed down protein candidates are then tested in "large-scale", which means that 20 microlitres per 100 conditions are pipetted by a Nano-Robot to find the perfect condition to produce the aimed protein for all further experiments. With this set-up, the researchers hope to reduce significantly the amount of time necessary for the production and crystallisation of proteins.

Marketable options of the "Laura Bassi Centers of Expertise"
The "Laura Bassi Centers of Expertise" also aims at the development and preparation of marketable goods. "In the long-term, we could offer platform and methodologies to complement a recently planned Campus-wide traditional protein purification facility for external researchers and campus members", explains Kristina Djinović-Carugo one of the options to benefit from the COSS project. Not only structural biologists need proteins in such a high and pure quality, they are also essential for biochemical and functional experiments. Another option to benefit from this protein production method is relevant for the project partner Intercell AG, a vaccine company: knowing protein structures and functions in cells serves for the development of therapeutic drugs.

Research career at the first sight
"During my diploma thesis I solved the structure of an organic compound. To be the first and only person in the world to see what this molecule looks like was such a fascinating moment that I was captured for research", describes Djinović-Carugo the start of her research career. Born 1963 in Ljubljana, Slovenia she completed her master studies and obtained a PhD in chemistry at the University of Ljubljana. In 1989, she left her hometown first for a pre-doctoral and subsequently a post-doctoral position at the University of Pavia, Italy. After four years as a staff scientist at the EMBL Heidelberg, Kristina Djinović-Carugo became Head of the Structural Biology and Crystallography Unit at the Synchrotron Facility in Trieste, Italy in 1999. 2004 the University of Vienna appointed her as Full Professor for Macromolecular Crystallography, where her research group is now located at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories at the Campus Vienna Biocenter. "I enjoy the good collaboration and international climate of research here in Vienna, especially at the Campus and with the COSS project partners." About the way of supporting female researchers with the Laura Bassi initiative, Kristina Djinović-Carugo, married and mother of a daughter, says: "In research, excellence always needs to be the most important criteria. The Laura Bassi Centers promote excellent women for excellent research and not women for being women – that’s the right way in my opinion." The funding programme is named after the Italian scientist Laura Bassi (1711-81), the first female university professor in Europe.

The Max F. Perutz Laboratories are a joint-venture of the University of Vienna and the Medical University, founded 2005. This inter-university collaboration is a new and innovative approach to strengthen research and education at both universities. The 60 research groups at the institute in the Dr.-Bohr-Gasse work in the area of molecular cell biology. Since 2007 the Scientific Director of the institute is Graham Warren, a biochemist and former Yale-professor. www.mfpl.ac.at

Contact:
Univ.-Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Dr. Kristina Djinović-Carugo
Max F. Perutz Laboratories
Head of Department for Structural and Computational Biology
University of Vienna
1030 Vienna, Campus Vienna Biocenter 5
T +43-1-4277-522 03
kristina.djinovic(at)univie.ac.at
http://www.mfpl.ac.at/index.php?cid=58

Dr. Lisa Cichocki
Communications
Max F. Perutz Laboratories
University of Vienna
1030 Wien, Dr. Bohr-Gasse 9
T +43-1-4277-240 14
M +43-664-602 77-240 14
lisa.cichocki(at)mfpl.ac.at
www.mfpl.ac.at

Kristina Djinović-Carugo (photo privat)