M. Drag

Thermoprotection by a cell membrane-localized metacaspase in a green alga

This study identifies CrMCA-II, a metacaspase in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, which provides thermoprotection through modulating plasma membrane fluidity, independent of its proteolytic activity.

SARS-CoV-2 Mpro protease variants of concern display altered viral and host target processing but retain potency towards antivirals

The paper examines how SARS-CoV-2 Mpro variants affect viral and host protein processing but maintain antiviral potency.

Mapping the substrate sequence and length of the Plasmodium M1 and M17 aminopeptidases

This study profiles the substrate specificity and kinetic behavior of M1 and M17 aminopeptidases from Plasmodium species, revealing differences in substrate preference and catalytic responses across species.

Ebselen derivatives are very potent dual inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 proteases - PLpro and Mpro in in vitro studies

This study identifies ebselen derivatives as potent inhibitors of SARS-CoV-2 proteases PLpro and Mpro in vitro, with some compounds showing greater potency than ebselen itself.

Design of optical imaging probes by screening of diverse substrate libraries directly in disease tissue extracts

The paper develops fluorescent probes for cancer detection by screening peptide libraries in tissue extracts, identifying highly effective tumor-specific probes that outperform previous designs.

Activity profiling and structures of inhibitor-bound SARS-CoV-2-PLpro protease provides a framework for anti-COVID-19 drug design

This study profiles SARS-CoV-2-PLpro activity and determines inhibitor structures to guide anti-COVID-19 drug design.

Substrate specificity profiling of SARS-CoV-2 main protease enables design of activity-based probes for patient-sample imaging

The paper profiles SARS-CoV-2 main protease substrate specificity to design activity-based probes for imaging Mpro in patient samples.

Engineered unnatural ubiquitin for optimal detection of deubiquitinating enzymes

The paper designs and tests engineered unnatural ubiquitin substrates and probes to improve selectivity for deubiquitinating enzymes.

Noninvasive optical detection of Granzyme B from natural killer cells using enzyme-activated fluorogenic probes

This study develops a fluorogenic probe for detecting Granzyme B activity in natural killer cells and demonstrates its use in analyzing GrB localization and function in cytotoxic cells.

Detection of active Granzyme A in NK92 cells with fluorescent activity-based probe

The paper develops a fluorescent activity-based probe to detect and track Granzyme A activity in NK92 cells.

Tissue-ABPP enables high-resolution confocal fluorescence imaging of serine hydrolase activity in cryosections - Application to glioma brain unveils activity hotspots originating from tumor-associated neutrophils

The paper introduces tissue-ABPP, a method for high-resolution imaging of serine hydrolase activity in tissue sections, revealing activity hotspots in glioma tumors linked to neutrophils.

The Activome: multiplexed probing of activity of proteolytic enzymes using mass cytometry-compatible activity-based probes (TOF-probes)

The paper develops lanthanide-labeled activity-based probes for mass cytometry to multiplex protease activity detection, demonstrating their use in identifying protease activomes in cell lines and blood cells.

Leveraging peptide substrate libraries to design inhibitors of bacterial Lon protease

The paper uses peptide substrate libraries to determine the specificity of bacterial Lon protease and develops a potent inhibitor that affects Lon function in E. coli without toxicity to mammalian cells.