# Functional Ocular Chemoproteomics for Retinal Biology Insight and in vivo Enzyme Activity

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA · 2024 · $193,750

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Recent advances in ‘omics-based approaches allow virtually any scientist to perform powerful
genome-wide, transcriptome-wide and proteome-wide analyses of normal tissue, diseasedtissue,
or even single cells. The information provided by these analyses has afforded important insight
into cellular changes that occur as a consequence of development, disease and risk factors
associated with disease, and the identification of potential targets for disease intervention. Yet,
all too commonly, the vast majority of ‘omics studies enable only inferences regarding the ultimate
effect of the observation on protein function. For example, many researchers routinely infer that
an increase in abundance either at the transcript or protein level correlates with a corresponding
increase in that particular protein’s function; but this is not necessarily the case. In reality, the
function of a protein is not simply determined by its mRNA or protein abundance, but rather by
the culmination of the cell’s ability to fold the protein appropriately, traffic it to the proper
cellular/extracellular locale, and the presence of inhibitors, activators, and/or cofactors. To
overcome these inherent limitations of conventional ‘omics approaches, a unique chemical-
biology approach called activity-based protein profiling (ABPP) has been used to provide
functional protein activity data. Towards this end, in this exploratory/developmental project, we
will assess i) the utility of ABPP to determine whether age-related retinal alterations ultimately
affect protein function in a physiologic context and ii) whether we can leverage newly designed,
enzyme-specific ABPP probes to yield real-time enzyme activity in vivo. Successful completion of
this project will positively impact our knowledge of ocular enzymes and will provide additional
tools for interrogating the intricate biology underlying incurable age-related and inherited eye
diseases.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10815740
- **Project number:** 5R21EY032693-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
- **Principal Investigator:** John Douglas Hulleman
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $193,750
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-11-01 → 2026-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10815740

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10815740, Functional Ocular Chemoproteomics for Retinal Biology Insight and in vivo Enzyme Activity (5R21EY032693-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-26 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10815740. Licensed CC0.

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