PSB Press Release Partnership for Structural Biology For immediate release A major European Centre for Structural Biology inaugurated in

purification, expression and crystallisation, facilities for iso- tope labelling, especially deuteration, and instrumentation for nuclear magnetic resonance, mass-spectrometry and cryo-electron microscopy.

“By assembling all the components of this pipeline in a unique platform under one roof, we can greatly speed up the process of investigating molecules and processes rel- evant to diseases,” says Rob Ruigrok, Professor at the Université Joseph Fourier and Director of the IVMS.

One example of work to be carried out at the CIBB will be understanding the molecular and cellular basis of viral dis- eases. Researchers plan to investigate, for example, pro- ESRF/Wim Burmeister The Carl-Ivar Brändén Building (CIBB) is located on the Polygone Scientifique teins on the surfaces of viruses that allow them to dock Campus in Grenoble, , and was completed in August 2005. onto receptor proteins, and thus gain entry into human Grenoble, January 13, 2006 - Today the new Carl-Ivar cells. Once inside, the viral proteins interact with cellular Brändén Building (CIBB) will be inaugurated on the proteins to hijack crucial cellular processes and eventually Polygone Scientifique Campus in Grenoble, France. The destroys the host. Viruses actively being studied include CIBB will be operated as a collaboration between major influenza virus, adenovirus, Epstein-Barr virus and rabies international and national partners based in Grenoble and virus. is a further step in the development of the region as a Investigating the key steps in these processes should European centre of excellence for structural biology. allow the identification of specific molecules and pathways The CIBB comprises two complementary units: the that may be targets for antiviral drugs. Designing efficient Partnership for Structural Biology (PSB), whose members inhibitors will require three-dimensional structures – atom- include the European Molecular Biology Laboratory by-atom maps of proteins and other molecules such as (EMBL), the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility RNA. The necessary level of resolution cannot be obtained (ESRF), the Institut de Biologie Structurale (IBS) and the with microscopes, so scientists turn to high-intensity X-ray Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL), and the Institut de Virologie beams, like those produced by the ESRF, and neutrons Moléculaire et Structurale (IVMS, associated with the from the ILL. The many types of skills and expertise nec- Université Joseph Fourier and the CNRS). essary for such analyses of molecular structures have now “These partners offer an amazing range of expertise in the been brought together in the CIBB. life sciences, and the Grenoble campus is an ideal place This strategy of combining complementary expertise has to cluster them together in an important new centre for proved itself in past collaborative projects between the structural biology”, says Eva Pebay-Peyroula, Director of institutes. For example, since the PSB was founded in the IBS and current Chair of the PSB. “It benefits from the 2002, scientists have obtained crucial insights into funda- presence of some of the world’s most important instru- mental biological processes that play a role in disease, ments for structural biology: the ESRF’s synchrotron X-ray and as part of the EU SPINE (Structural Proteomics in source is one of the most powerful in the world, and the ILL Europe) project, the PSB has produced potential drug tar- is the world’s leading source of neutrons for research.” gets in the battle against disease-causing bacteria and For many years the ESRF, ILL and EMBL have collaborat- viruses. ed in offering scientists services and training connected to “The CIBB is a concrete manifestation of the interdiscipli- these instruments, already making the site a pivotal con- nary and international scientific collaboration necessary to tact point for large European research projects and inter- push forward fundamental disease research in this new era disciplinary collaborations. of high-throughput biology” says Stephen Cusack, Head of The CIBB will house research groups and a complete EMBL’s Outstation in Grenoble. “We are particularly pipeline for carrying out high-throughput structural investi- pleased that it has received financial support and recogni- gations of proteins and other molecules, with a particular tion through the European Union’s 6th Framework focus on molecules related to human diseases. The CIBB Programme”. laboratories contain robotics for high-throughput protein

Press Contact: Françoise Vauquois, ILL Press Officer, Grenoble, France, 0033 4 76 20 71 07, [email protected] About EMBL: The European Molecular Biology Laboratory is a basic research institute funded by public research monies from 18 member states (Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom). Research at EMBL is conducted by approximately 80 independent groups covering the spectrum of molecular biology. The Laboratory has five units: the main Laboratory in Heidelberg, and Outstations in Hinxton (the European Bioinformatics Institute), Grenoble, Hamburg, and Monterotondo near Rome. The cornerstones of EMBL’s mission are: to perform basic research in molecular biology; to train scientists, students and visitors at all levels; to offer vital services to scientists in the member states; to develop new instruments and methods in the life sciences and to actively engage in technology transfer activities. EMBL’s International PhD Programme has a student body of about 170. The Laboratory also sponsors an active Science and Society programme. Visitors from the press and public are welcome.

European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)

The ESRF is constituted as a French Société Civile and is mandated by its twelve Member countries to operate, maintain and develop a synchrotron radiation source and associated instruments. Operating the most powerful third generation synchrotron radiation source in Europe, it is an essential element in any initiative requiring high-throughput structure determination. The elements of the ESRF's public science programme are peer-reviewed and the results made freely available in the public domain.

The ESRF has agreed to develop a long term programme in structural genomics as part of its overall peer-reviewed science programme (in addition to its current programme in protein crystallography) and to commit resources both to build up the necessary infrastructure and to construct an insertion-device based beamline complex to enable the long-term programme to be pursued.

Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL)

The ILL is constituted as a French Société Civile and is mandated by its four Associates to operate, maintain and develop a high-flux neutron source, to devise and execute programmes of scientific research, and to provide the facilities necessary for their execution. Operating the world's leading neutron source, the ILL has contributed to important advances in the life sciences through the use of a wide range of innovative instruments. These include both diffractometers for structural studies and spectrometers for studies of dynamics.

The ILL plans to expand its activity in this field through the creation of a strong in-house structural biology programme, including upgrades of instruments and infrastructure. In this context the ILL has set up, in collaboration with the EMBL, a laboratory for the deuteration of biological macromolecules, which will act as a centre for users and as a focus for the in-house research activity.

IBS:

The Jean-Pierre Ebel Structural Biology Institute (IBS) is a research facility, housing a total of approximately 200 people, and supported under a joint agreement between three major French scientific research organizations, the CEA, the CNRS and the UJF. The Institute is close to the European large scale facilities, the ILL and the ESRF. It is a centre for research, for technical and scientific instrumentation and provides facilities for visiting scientists. It possesses cutting edge facilities for Structural Biology, a field of molecular research that is essential for the understanding of fundamental biological processes. Within the PSB, the IBS contributes expertise in quality control and in collaboration with the other partners, participates in the development of facilities for cloning, producing proteins and protein crystallization.

IVMS:

The Institute for Molecular and Structural Virology (IVMS) is a French laboratory supported by the Grenoble Joseph Fourier University (UJF) and the CNRS and hosted in the Carl-Ivar Brändén Building (CIBB) on the ILL/ESRF site. The main objective of the lab is the determination of structures of viruses, viral proteins and complexes between viral and cellular proteins by X-ray crystallography, electron microscopy (EM) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). These structures can then be used for the design of small molecule inhibitors of viral infection that can be tested by enzymology and in cultures of virus infected cells. After the identification of potential drug candidates, pharmaceutical industries may be contacted for further development.

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