Unlocking Medulloblastoma Detection: Transketolase (TKT) as a Novel Biomarker for Early Diagnosis

Medulloblastoma is an aggressive form of cancer that originates as a brain tumor in the brain’s cerebellum, a portion of the brain that controls balance and regulates complex motor functions. Transketolase (TKT2) is a protein found in the cerebrospinal fluid of patients with medulloblastoma and has been identified as a potential biomarker for medulloblastoma due to its elevated levels. Antibodies are proteins that help the body fight off bacteria and viruses; each has a unique antibody that attacks it. I hypothesize that the antibody binds to the predicted binding site of the TKT protein and helps detect this protein. In this work, I have performed computational simulations to identify the antibody that can bind to the TKT protein and be used as a biomarker. I used AlphaFold 3 to retrieve the amino acid sequence for the TKT protein structure and then modeled the protein using Chimera X. I used HDOCK to carry out molecular docking. I provided the software with the TKT protein and specific antibody, and it provided us a model of how the antibody would bind to the TKT protein. I found that the 4a6y antibody binds best to the TKT protein and can be used as a biomarker to identify the TKT protein. The future application of this research would be developing an actual antibody from my model to detect this cancer in its early stages, especially in younger children.