Researchers say new method may detect disease before symptoms

Researchers at the University of Mississippi and the University of California, San Diego say they have developed a method that could one day allow diagnosis of some diseases before symptoms appear, according to a University of Mississippi news release.

The technology lets scientists label and observe three-dimensional protein shapes and interactions in mammal blood, the release said. Joshua Sharp, a professor of pharmacology at the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy, said the approach focuses on what molecules are doing rather than how many there are.

Sharp said the method uses a reagent and ultraviolet light to show how proteins behave in mice with diabetes. “In order to work, proteins have to form these intricate, folded, three-dimensional structures,” he said.

James Stewart, an associate professor of pharmacology and research associate professor in the UM Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, said the team observed complement activation and altered iron handling in diabetes and hopes to identify structural biomarkers that appear earlier than traditional biochemical markers.

The researchers, led by Sharp along with Lisa Jones, a professor of chemistry and biochemistry at the University of California, San Diego, said the technology is still developing but could be used to find early diagnostic markers for Type 1 diabetes and chronic traumatic encephalopathy resulting from traumatic brain injury. “In the future, this could translate into blood-based tests that detect disease earlier, monitor progression more accurately and help guide treatment decisions,” Stewart said.

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