Engineering a chromatin looping factor for artificial gene regulation

本项目的目的是通过一种广泛表达的哺乳动物蛋白质来确定染色质成环和基因激活的机制。该项目将确定这种蛋白质的功能是否通过小分子的结合来调节，它是否可以与密切相关的蛋白质一起起作用，以及翻译后修饰是否调节循环和基因激活。利用蛋白质工程，该项目将开发合成的循环因子，可以打开一系列广泛的靶基因。该项目旨在回答有关蛋白质如何在DNA中建立和维持物理环以调节基因表达的基本问题。该项目还将开发研究工具，最终可能纠正由基因错误表达引起的疾病。

This project aims to define mechanisms of chromatin looping and gene activation by a widely expressed mammalian protein. The project will establish if the functions of this protein are modulated by the binding of small molecules, whether it can act in conjunction with closely related proteins, and if post-translational modifications regulate looping and gene activation. Using protein engineering the project will develop synthetic looping factors that can switch on a wide array of target genes. The project aims to answer fundamental questions about how proteins can establish and maintain physical loops in DNA to modulate gene expression. The project will also develop research tools that might ultimately correct diseases caused by the faulty expression of genes.