Predicting the location of a protein within a cell is crucial for developing scientific discoveries related to drug development and treating diseases like epilepsy. Proteins are responsible for most cellular functions, making them the body’s “workhorses.”
Dong Xu, Curators Distinguished Professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Missouri, and colleagues have updated their protein localization prediction model, MULocDeep, to provide more targeted predictions for animals, humans, and plants. The model was originally created 10 years ago to study proteins in mitochondria.
“Our tool provides a useful resource for researchers by helping them get to their discoveries faster because we can help them design more targeted experiments from which to advance their research more effectively,” Xu said.
The model uses machine learning to predict irregular locations of proteins, known as “mislocalization,” which is often associated with diseases such as metabolic disorders, cancers, and neurological disorders.
“Mislocalization causes the protein to be unable to perform a function as expected because it either cannot go to a target or goes there inefficiently,” Xu said.
2023-06-02 23:30:03
Original from phys.org