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Projekt Druckansicht

A chemical approach to the structural and biophysical study of the Id proteins and to the modulation of their biological functions

Fachliche Zuordnung Biologische und Biomimetische Chemie
Förderung Förderung von 2003 bis 2010
Projektkennung Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Projektnummer 5396788
 
Erstellungsjahr 2011

Zusammenfassung der Projektergebnisse

The Id proteins (Id1-4) belong to the large family of helix-loop-helix (HLH) transcription factors and act as inhibitors of DNA binding and cell differentiation. They are important during development, cell fate and lineage determination, neuro- and angiogenesis. Also, upregulated Id protein expression has been observed in several cancer types as well as in vascular disorders, and has been related to tumor angiogenesis, migration and invasion. Therefore, the Id proteins represent potential therapeutic targets. We have exploited a chemical approach for the synthesis, structural characterization and function control of the Id protein family. Large fragments of the four Id proteins, including amino acid substituted and fluorescence-labeled analogs, as well as the full-length Id3 protein were prepared by solid-phase technique and investigated by spectroscopic methods. Moreover, a peptide consisting of a dimeric form of a short sequence of the Id1 HLH motif has displayed inhibitory activity on proliferation and migration of vascular smooth muscle cells, while inducing differentiation. This may have an impact on pathological phenotypes such as atherosclerosis and hypertension. Our synthetic, conformational and Id-protein modulation studies are still ongoing and aim at the accomplishment of those tasks that could not be reached during the granted period. In particular, future work will focus on the total chemical synthesis of Id1 and Id2, which, beside Id3, are the biologically and pathologically most relevant members of the Id family, on the understanding of their folding and association properties and on the development of Id-protein inhibitors for the modulation of cell differentiation, proliferation, and migration in pathological systems.

Projektbezogene Publikationen (Auswahl)

 
 

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