The strategy that is frequently used to focus on a particular aspect of a complex biological system such as an enzyme's active site or intermediates in the reaction profile, is the selective observation of less abundant nuclei present naturally or incorporated by specific biosynthetic or chemical labeling procedures.
Specific systems under current investigation include: metalloproteins involved in metal homeostasis, metallothioneins, which includes studies of their role in the activation of zinc-finger containing transcription factors and the physiological role of the brain specific metallothionein, MT3, in Alzheimer's disease; and molecules involved in the immune response, the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporin A (CsA), and its cytosolic receptor protein, cyclophilin (CyP) and the penultimate interaction of the CsA:CyP complex with calcineurin.
Another area of past active research involved fundamental studies of factors affecting the relaxation (MRI) of protons in tissue with applications to clinical magnetic resonance imaging techniques.
