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Resurrecting an ancient receptor to understand a modern drug
To make progress in structural biology, look millions of years into the past. Emory biochemist Eric Ortlund and his colleagues have been taking the approach of “resurrecting” ancient proteins to get...
View ArticleNo junk: long RNA mimics DNA, restrains hormone responses
It arises from what scientists previously described as “junk DNA” or “the dark matter of the genome,” but this gene is definitely not junk. The gene Gas5 acts as a brake on steroid hormone receptors,...
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Ancient protein flexibility may drive ‘new’ functions
A mechanism by which stress hormones inhibit the immune system, which appeared to be relatively new in evolution, may actually be hundreds of millions of years old. A protein called the glucocorticoid...
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Tracking how steroid hormone receptor proteins evolved
When thinking about the evolution of female and male, consider that the first steroid receptor proteins, which emerged about 550 million years ago, were responsive to estrogen. The ancestor of other...
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Tweaks to corticosteroids may reduce side effects
Steroid anti-inflammatory drugs such as dexamethasone and prednisone are widely used to treat conditions such as allergies, asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancer – and now, COVID-19. Yet they can have...
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Promiscuous protein droplets regulate immune gene activity
Biochemists at Emory are achieving insights into how an important regulator of the immune system switches its function, based on its orientation and local environment. New research demonstrates that...
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