Montreal -- Canadian scientists say they have completed a massive survey of the network of protein complexes that maintain the fundamental processes of life.

The University of Montreal researchers said they observed never-before-seen protein complexes and networks of complexes "including two implicated in the normal mechanisms by which cells divide and proliferate and another that controls recycling of the molecular building blocks of life called autophagy."
The scientists said the processes -- implicated in diseases such as cancer -- have recently been shown to be involved in degenerative neurological disorders such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's diseases.

They said their findings provide new avenues to explore in linking the fundamental processes to human disease.

"Our team systematically analyzed the interactions of proteins of bakers yeast, a unicellular organism confirmed to provide insight into fundamental processes shared by most living cells including those of humans," said lead researcher Professor Stephen Michnick.

The research -- which included Kirill Tarassov, Vincent Messier, Christian Landry and Stevo Radinovic of Montreal University, as well as Professors Howard Bussey and Jackie Vogel of McGill University -- appears in the online edition of the journal Science.

Copyright 2008 by United Press International.