Mechanisms of Nucleic acid Uptake by Renal Epithelium

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): One of the opportunities to intervene in a disease process is to identify the molecules that participate and then inhibit them. This can be done in theory by identifying the nucleic acids that encode the protein and using a complementary strand of DNA to block this from happening. Unfortunately, while the concept works in solutions of fluid, the ability to do this in a cell has been more difficult. One of the major problems has been understanding how these strands of DNA get into cells. The purpose of this project is to explore this issue. We have previously shown that single stranded DNA can move through a highly specific channel. We purified this protein complex and have been identifying what each component of this complex does. We have now identified one of the subunits of this channel as a common enzyme that serves also to regulate DNA uptake. The current proposal will evaluate other subunits and participants in this activity. We hope to use this information to design DNA molecules as therapeutics to treat disease.