The Synthesis and Evaluation of Cyclopropene Containing Isoprenoids for Imaging and Quantifying Prenylated Proteins

James Wollack, Associate Professor of Chemistry, received a $7,500 Faculty Research & Scholarly Activities Grant to conduct a project where cyclopropene probes will be synthesized and transferred to prenylatable proteins using an enzyme called PFTase. Once labeled with a cyclopropene, group prenylated proteins can be subsequently targeted with fluorescent tetrazines. This will allow for prenylated protein localization and prenylated protein levels to be determined in living cells. This methodology is important because prenylated protein levels increase or decrease in disease states such as cancer and Alzheimer\u27s disease. Being able to monitor prenylated protein levels in living cells may help in the development of therapeutic treatments and drug dosing models for these diseases