L.A. Banaszynski et al., "A rapid, reversible, and tunable method to regulate protein function in living cells using synthetic small molecules," Cell, 126: 995-1004, Sept. 8, 2006.

Destabilized mutants of the cytosolic protein FKBP12 are rapidly and constitutively degraded when expressed in mammalian cells but these unstable mutants can be rescued by addition of a synthetic FKBP12 ligand. When fused to other proteins, then ligand-induced rescue from degradation is also observed.

Sophie Jackson
University of Cambridge, United Kingdom

Extra: Stanford?s Tom Wandless is working to commercialize this technology. Click here to read more.


K.A. D'Amour et al., "Production of pancreatic hormone-expressing endocrine cells from human embryonic stem cells," Nat Biotechnol, 24:1392-401, Nov. 24, 2006.

This study uses a human embryonic stem cells and five-step protocol in vitro to recapitulate the normal embryonic developmental process that leads to the formation of insulin producing cells. The cells produced by using...

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