£1.87m for disease research

Professor Peter Downes of the School of Life Sciences has been given another boost with the award of £1.87m from the Medical Research Council to develop his research on cell signalling.

Professor Downes and his team are studying the mechanisms through which hormones like insulin control the behaviour of our cells and tissues. Insulin stimulates an enzyme called PI3K located on the inside surface of muscle and fat cells, which triggers the production of a chemical signal called PIP3 which in turn coordinates cellular responses to the presence of insulin in the bloodstream. PIP3 is the master switch responsible for the absorption of sugar from the bloodstream after a meal. Remarkably, the same signal regulates cell growth and movement and is also triggered by reactive forms of oxygen that are thought to be important in ageing and cardiovascular disease.

Faults in the PI3K signalling machinery can therefore contribute to diseases as diverse as diabetes, cancer and rheumatoid arthritis. The development of drugs that target PI3K is a priority that is being pursued in Dundee in collaboration with some of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies.

The Division of Signal Transduction Therapy (DSTT) in the School of Life Sciences, co-directed by Peter and his colleague Sir Philip Cohen provides pharmaceutical companies with reagents, antibodies and DNA constructs that could lead to new drug developments. The success of this collaboration has led to renewed funding of £15 million over five years to the DSTT from Astrazeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GlaxoSmithkline, Merck and Co., Merck KGAa and Pfizer.

Commenting on this latest success Peter said, "This confirms the University's reputation as a world centre for cell signalling research". He paid tribute to his team whose achievements in recent years had convinced the Medical Research Council to increase its investment in his research on PI3K and its medical implications.