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Reverse Yeast Two-hybrid System to Identify Mammalian Nuclear Receptor Residues that Interact with Ligands and/or Antagonists
Published on: November 15, 2013
Genomic profiling in nuclear receptor-mediated toxicity
Courtney G Woods1, John P Vanden Heuvel, Ivan Rusyn
1Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7431, USA.
Abstract:
Nuclear receptors (NRs) are attractive drug targets due to their role in regulation of a wide range of physiologic responses. In addition to providing therapeutic value, many pharmaceutical agents along with environmental chemicals are ligands for NRs and can cause adverse health effects that are directly related to activation of NRs. Identifying the molecular events that produce a toxic response may be confounded by the fact that there is a significant overlap in the biological processes that NRs regulate. Microarrays and other methods for gene expression profiling have served as useful, sensitive tools for discerning the mechanisms by which therapeutics and environmental chemicals invoke toxic effects. The capability to probe thousands of genes simultaneously has made genomics a prime technology for identifying drug targets, biomarkers of exposure/toxicity and key players in the mechanisms of disease. The complex intertwining networks regulated by NRs are hard to probe comprehensively without global approaches and genomics has become a key technology that facilitates our understanding of NR-dependent and -independent events. The future of drug discovery, design and optimization, and risk assessment of chemical toxicants that activate NRs will inevitably involve genomic profiling. This review will focus on genomics studies related to PPAR, CAR, PXR, RXR, LXR, FXR, and AHR.
Insights
Genomics is crucial for understanding nuclear receptors (NRs) and their role in drug development and toxicity. This approach helps identify drug targets and biomarkers for chemical toxicants affecting physiological responses.
Area of Science:
- Pharmacology and Toxicology
- Genomics
- Molecular Biology
Background:
- Nuclear receptors (NRs) regulate numerous physiological processes, making them key targets for drug development.
- NR ligands, including pharmaceuticals and environmental chemicals, can elicit adverse health effects.
- Understanding NR-mediated toxicity is complex due to overlapping biological pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the application of genomics in studying nuclear receptors.
- To highlight the role of genomics in drug discovery, toxicity assessment, and understanding NR mechanisms.
- To focus on specific nuclear receptors: PPAR, CAR, PXR, RXR, LXR, FXR, and AHR.
Main Methods:
- Gene expression profiling using microarrays and other genomic technologies.
- Simultaneous analysis of thousands of genes to discern toxicological mechanisms.
- Global approaches to comprehensively probe complex NR-regulated networks.
Main Results:
- Genomics provides sensitive tools for identifying mechanisms of therapeutic and environmental chemical toxicity.
- Genomic profiling is essential for identifying drug targets and biomarkers of exposure and toxicity.
- Genomics facilitates understanding of both NR-dependent and NR-independent events.
Conclusions:
- Genomics is indispensable for advancing drug discovery, design, optimization, and risk assessment of NR-activating toxicants.
- Future research and development in nuclear receptor pharmacology will heavily rely on genomic profiling.
- This review emphasizes the pivotal role of genomics in unraveling NR functions and impacts.
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