A recently discovered extracellular protein has been shown to relieve pain, and recent studies suggest that it can, in some cases, cure nerve damage by inducing repair. In order to understand the protein’s effects at a molecular level and develop a method to study its interactions, we will explore whether biomolecular nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy would be a feasible methodology. For this, we will need to produce a large amount of stable isotope-labelled protein for NMR.

This project brings together industry experts in protein function and drug targeting with university experts in protein production and biomolecular NMR spectroscopy, with the aim of developing a structure-based understanding of the molecular mode of action of this important protein.