Yumee Koo
Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
Chemistry & Biochemistry
University of the Sciences
United States of America
Biography
I am interested in the study of the mechanisms of macromolecular interactions, including protein-lipid and protein-inhibitor interactions. Efforts are focused on the characterization of proteins using biochemical and spectrometric techniques and the development of kinetic and binding assays for therapeutically important enzymes. One example of a system we are interested in studying is the class of cysteine proteases, which are the proteolytic enzymes that utilize a cysteine residue for their catalytic activity. Especially mammalian papain-like cysteine proteases (also known as thiol-dependent cathepsins), which are medically important since these proteases are essential in osteoporosis, arthritis, immune-related diseases, atherosclerosis, and cancer, as well as in a wide variety of parasitic infections. Targeting this enzyme is therefore very effective in the development of new drugs for a number of diseases. My interest is in developing an assay system for the inhibition of papain-like cysteine proteases as a model system in order to utilize it for the study of enzyme kinetics.
Research Interest
Mechanisms of protein-lipid and protein-inhibitor interactions. Characterizing proteins using biochemical and spectrometric techniques and developing kinetic and binding assays for therapeutically important enzymes
Publications
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Ghosh AK, Krishnan K, Walters DE, Cho W, Cho H, Koo Y, Trevino J, Holland L, Buthod J. Structure based design: Novel spirocyclic ethers as nonpeptidal P 2-ligands for HIV protease inhibitors. Bioorganic & medicinal chemistry letters. 1998 Apr 21;8(8):979-82.
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Nandi D, Lightcap ES, Koo YK, Lu X, Quancard J, Silverman RB. Purification and inactivation of 3-hydroxyanthranilic acid 3, 4-dioxygenase from beef liver. The international journal of biochemistry & cell biology. 2003 Jul 31;35(7):1085-97.
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Li Y, Chen F, Putt M, Koo YK, Madaio M, Cambier JC, Cohen PL, Eisenberg RA. B cell depletion with anti-CD79 mAbs ameliorates autoimmune disease in MRL/lpr mice. The Journal of Immunology. 2008 Sep 1;181(5):2961-72.
