A team of researchers from SUNY Polytechnic Institute (SUNY Poly), led by Associate Professor of Nanobioscience Dr. Ben Boivin, has published an article in Nature Chemical Biology entitled, “Regulation of PTP1B activation through disruption of redox-complex formation.” The paper, first authored by Ph.D. candidate Avinash Londhe, focuses on how cells respond to their environment, and specifically, how signals transferred from a cell’s surface to its nucleus are tightly controlled by proteins called protein tyrosine phosphatases. This groundbreaking research not only allows us to better understand the ways in which signals are communicated, but also provides important insights into how these intracellular signals can be turned off as they make their way through the cell. This could ultimately help stop potentially harmful signals, such as those causing cancer and other diseases.

The research was conducted in partnership with teams at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Korea Research Institute of Bioscience & Biotechnology, the Université de Montréal, the Montreal Heart Institute, and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

View a short video above, in which Dr. Boivin and Avinash Londhe explain how this research may lead to better ways of fighting cancer and cardiac hypertrophy. They also highlight the exciting research opportunities that this project has provided to SUNY Poly students.

View the publication here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41589-019-0433-0.