Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine professor published in prestigious journal
Paper identifies a mechanism that may lead to a potential drug target for endocrine-related diseases
Scranton, PA (11/21/2017) — Raj Kumar, Ph.D., a professor of biochemistry and the director of research at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine (Geisinger Commonwealth), is the lead author of a research article published on Nov. 13 in the online journal, Scientific Reports. Scientific Reports is a sister publication of Nature.
The article, Site-specific phosphorylation regulates the structure and function of an intrinsically disordered domain of the glucocorticoid receptor, was co-authored by Shagufta H. Khan, laboratory manager of Geisinger Commonwealth's department of Basic Sciences and William A. McLaughlin, Ph.D., associate professor of computational biology.
The paper identifies a mechanism of activation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) that may lead to a potential drug target for endocrine-related diseases including certain kinds of breast and prostate cancers that fail to respond to traditional hormone-based treatments. Phosphorylation is a natural and necessary post-translational modification that proteins undergo to maintain their specific structure and functions under normal physiological conditions. In specific types of cancer cells - triple negative breast cancer (TNBC) and castration-resistant prostate cancer - higher expression and activity of GR have been associated with the growth and proliferation of these cells. Dr. Kumar's research suggests that inhibiting phosphorylation-induced GR activation process could stop or slow the growth of these cancers.
"Ours is a novel finding, which provides a potential biological target for TNBC and possibly other cancers" Dr. Kumar said. "The next step in our research is to test whether certain small molecules can inhibit site-specific GR phosphorylation. If they do, there may be a new drug target for TNBC and possibly castration-resistant prostate cancer, both of which presently have little treatment options available.
To read the paper, visit www.nature.com/articles/s41598-017-15549-5.
Media Attachments
Raj Kumar, Ph.D., professor of biochemistry and the director of research at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
William A. McLaughlin, Ph.D., associate professor of computational biology at Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine
Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine Faculty
EZygmunt@som.geisinger.eduShare this Story
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