Lay summary
Immunohistochemistry staining of tissue sections is widely used for cancer diagnosis and treatment monitoring. Currently available methods do not account for the structure of the target protein. Motivated by the success in neurodegenerative diseases where aggregated protein states can selectively be detected, we aim to develop improved staining methods against cancer markers.
We recently discovered that the crucial tumour suppressor protein p16 can form aggregated structures similar to protein deposits found in age-related diseases. These aggregated deposits called amyloids are an inactive version of the protein and knowledge about the p16 state might be of great value for patient treatment. We will develop immunohistochemistry staining methods that will allow to discriminate the active p16 from the inactive state. Our method might also allow to determine the treatment success of newly developed anti-cancer drugs against binding partners of p16, therefore supporting treatment and prognosis of cancer patients.