Furthering understanding of how the addition of chemical tags to proteins is affected in MND.
PhD Student: Emily Day
Principal Investigator: Dr Judith Sleeman
Lead Institution: University of St Andrews
MND Association Funding: £132,514
Funding dates: September 2025 - February 2029
About the project
Proteins are molecules which carry out much of the work in cells. After they are first made, some proteins are altered slightly by a process called arginine methylation, which involves the addition of a small chemical tag to the protein. This tag affects how the protein works. These tags are added to proteins by ‘protein arginine methyltransferases’ (PRMTs). This project will investigate changes in these tags in MND cells and the effect these changes have on the protein. They will also look at whether compounds (or drugs) can be designed to change the activity of PRMTs, therefore changing how many of the chemical tags are added, and whether this will have a positive effect on motor neurones.
What could this mean for MND research?
This project is hoping to increase understanding of how the addition of chemical tags to proteins is affected in MND, and whether this can be changed by compounds to have a positive effect on motor neurones. This could prove to be a target for new treatments for MND.
Project code: 2429-792