Paper from Dressler Lab Shows Inhibition of Pax2 Transcription Activation

By Elizabeth Walker | August 29 2017

A paper published in ACS Chemical Biology by Edward Grimley, PhD, et al in Dr. Greg Dressler’s lab demonstrates the ability to target a DNA binding domain of the Pax gene family with small molecules.  Inhibition of Pax2 Transcription Activation with a Small Molecule that Targets the DNA Binding Domain explains that Pax proteins are tissue-specific developmental regulators that are often highly expressed in human diseases such as cancer. 

The authors show that inhibition of Pax2 with a small molecule that prevents binding of the protein to DNA can slow proliferation of renal and ovarian cancer cells that are Pax2 positive but not those that are Pax2 negative.

The study can provide the basis for developing more precise, cell specific anti-cancer drugs.