Bedford Laboratory
Areas of Research
- Epigenetics Research
- Molecular Carcinogenesis Research
- Arginine Methylation
- Epigenetic Readers
- Chemical Inhibitors
- Domain Readers
The Bedford Laboratory, located near Austin at Science Park, studies the biological role of arginine methylation, a very common post-translational modification present on histones and other proteins. With regards to histones, arginine methylation plays an important role in the histone code and epigenetic memory.
We focus on the family of proteins responsible for methylating arginine residues, protein arginine methyltransferase (PRMTs). Arginine is unique among amino acids as its guanidino group contains five potential hydrogen bond donors that are positioned for favorable interactions with biological hydrogen bond acceptors.
Three types of methylarginine species exist: monomethylarginine (MMA), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) and symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA). The formation of MMA, ADMA, and SDMA in mammalian cells is performed by a family of nine protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs).
Bedford Laboratory in Action
Donghang Cheng, Ph.D. mentoring Michael Chen during the Summer Program in Cancer Research (SPCR).
Donghang Cheng, Ph.D. and Vidya Vemulapalli, Ph.D. discussing cells.
Mark Bedford, Ph.D. and Narkhyun Bae, Ph.D. discussing experimental results.