Transcription Factor Reporter Technology

描述（由申请人提供）：癌症基因表达异常调节的分子解剖揭示了许多癌症治疗的潜在靶点。这些目标包括正常和异常转录机制的组成部分。由于转录水平上许多信号转导途径的汇聚，参与癌症转录调节的蛋白质将获得高度重视。针对转录靶点的新分子疗法，包括 siRNA 技术，由于其对靶基因表达的干扰精确，因此比传统疗法具有显着优势。虽然分子遗传学和药物化学的快速进展带来了新的衰减剂；由于基因表达的变化，迫切需要开发能够对癌症对这些疗法的反应进行早期和非侵入性评估的技术。特别是，直接报告癌细胞基因转录的成像技术对于癌症表型和分期以及评估新疗法至关重要。近红外荧光范围内的光学成像与酶特异性自猝灭探针的使用相结合已成为活癌细胞筛查的新技术。我们之前设计了一系列基于合成生物相容性荧光染料载体的荧光探针，可报告荷瘤动物的水解活性。最近，我们开发了新的化学方法，用于生成不对称和对称寡核苷酸分子报告探针 (ODMR)，旨在检测与转录因子核因子 NFkappaB (NF-κB) 的多效性和进化保守成分的相互作用。 NF-κB 通过调节癌症和肿瘤基质细胞中的细胞粘附、抗凋亡和细胞因子应答基因的表达，在肿瘤进展中发挥关键作用之一。我们最近测试了新的合成方法，将亲水性、非干扰性连接体引入 βB 盒序列中，使荧光染料与这些探针与任何核苷间磷酸盐共价结合。我们建议开发 ODMR 技术，这对于进一步推进癌症相关靶转录激活剂的体内成像至关重要。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Molecular dissection of abnormal regulation of cancer gene expression has revealed many potential targets for cancer therapy. Those targets include the components of normal, as well as abnormal transcription machinery. Proteins involved in regulation of transcription in cancer will attain high priority due to the convergence of many signal transduction pathways at the transcriptional level. New molecular therapies directed to transcriptional targets, including siRNA technology have significant advantages over traditional therapies due to a precision of their interference with target gene expression. While rapid progress in molecular genetics and medicinal chemistry delivers new +attenuators; of gene expression, there is a critical need in developing technologies that enable early and non-invasive assessment of cancer response to these therapies. In particular, enabling imaging technologies that report directly on gene transcription in cancer cells are critically important for both cancer phenotyping and staging, as well as for evaluating new therapies. Optical imaging in the near-infrared range of fluorescence combined with the use of enzyme-specific self- quenched probes has emerged as novel technology of live cancer cell screening. We previously devised a family of fluorescent probes based on synthetic biocompatible carriers of fluorochromes that report on hydrolytic activity in tumor-bearing animals. Recently, we developed new chemistry for generating asymmetrical as well symmetrical oligonucleotide molecular reporter probes (ODMR) designed to sense interactions with pleiotropic and evolutionally conserved components of transcriptional factor nuclear factor NFkappaB (NF-?B). NF-?B plays one of the key roles in tumor progression by regulating expression of cell adhesion, antiapoptotic and cytokine responsive genes in cancer and stromal cells in tumors. We recently tested novel synthetic approaches for introducing hydrophilic, non-interfering linkers into ?B-box sequences for covalent binding of fluorochromes to these probes to any internucleoside phosphate. We propose to develop ODMR technology that will be essential for further advancement of in vivo imaging of cancer-related target transcription activators.