Department of Biology Colloquium

Speaker: Hacer Karatas Bristow, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, WVU Department of Chemistry "Development of peptidomimetic inhibitors targeting transcription factors" Transcription factors regulate gene expression by recognizing specific DNA binding elements and forming protein-protein interactions to recruit co-activators. Tight regulation of gene expression is crucial during all stages of life and changes in the transcription factor function can lead to developmental abnormalities, diseases, or resistance to treatment. Pbx is such a transcription factor that is upregulated in a range of solid and liquid tumors. The role of Pbx, particularly homologs 1 and 3, is mediated by binding partners Hox transcription factors, including HoxA9, a major driver in acute leukemia. Overall, Pbx and HoxA9 are critical transcription factors deregulated in cancer, and inhibition of interactions mediating Pbx, DNA and HoxA9 complexes could lead to new therapies. This talk will descrtibe the development of HoxA9-derived peptidomimetic inhibitors of Pbx1 and the assays to determine the inhibitors’ mechanism of action.