Lino Gonzalez Scientist: Protein Chemistry Profile | Education/Background | Top Scientific Papers | Awards & Honors

"I joined Genentech in 2001 for the simple reason that it is one of the best places in the world to do science. The scientific resources, infrastructure and people are unparalleled. This creates a fertile ground for quickly moving a project from an idea to a reality. It was also clear to me that this was a great place to do science by the number of scientists that had spent a majority of their careers working here."

Current Projects/Collaborations: "My lab focuses on identifying novel receptor-ligand or co-receptor interactions. Now that the human genome is complete, one of the next steps is to understand the interactions between all transmembrane and secreted proteins, which represent about one-third of all human genes. This knowledge would greatly aid in characterizing the biological function of many receptors/ligand pairs and their potential as therapeutic targets. We concentrate on receptors of the immune system, in particular the immunoglobulin receptor family. Surprisingly, a significant number of these receptors still remain orphans. In order to identify candidate partners, we have utilized Genentech's SPDI (Secreted Protein Discovery Initiative) protein library, consisting of over 1,000 purified, secreted proteins. Currently, we are using surface plasmon resonance (SPR) and Bio-layer interferometry (BLI) technology to screen hundreds of interactions per day. To date, this work has led to the identification of several novel interactions that are now being evaluated for their therapeutic potential. The first was an interaction between the B and T Lymphocyte Attenuator (BTLA) and the tumor necrosis factor receptor Herpes Virus Entry Mediator (HVEM). In a collaborative effort with other labs at Genentech, we showed that HVEM induces a T and B cell inhibitory signal through BTLA. Work towards validating other novel Ig interactions is ongoing in the lab. We are now aiming to increase our screening capacity to the thousands of interactions per day by generating protein microarrays from the SPDI library. In addition we are interested in methods to increase the number of candidates in the SPDI library and in developing methods to probe interactions with multi-transmembrane receptors. We are continually monitoring advances in protein interaction technologies and applying them towards identifying novel receptor interactions with the hope that they may become future therapeutic targets for fighting disease."

Inspiration/Vision "I am inspired by the environment that Genentech provides that allows us, as scientists, to generate new discoveries and to solve existing biological questions. The thrill of discovery is a great motivation, and as an added bonus, being at a place like Genentech, these discoveries can directly impact the development of new therapeutics."