But it is the proteins that actually carry out bodily functions, and drugs are developed to bind to particular proteins.
At the leading end of the two pathways were two phagocytic receptors, MERKTK and MEGF10, which in other cell types have been shown to bind to particular proteins on targeted cells or materials, triggering the ensuing engulfment, ingestion and digestion of the targets.
PcG proteins can bind to particular genomic regions, where they mediate specific histone modifications and chromatin compaction, therefore suppressing the expression of the target genes in these loci.
Other studies note that adapter proteins that bind to particular DNA sequences can recruit enzymatic activity to specific histone residues to bring about the various cellular events (5).
Some reports suggest that specific HAT and HDAC activities are recruited by large protein complexes that bind to particular post-translationally modified forms of the histones, such as the bromodomain that binds to acetylated lysines (4).
In contrast, other proteins have evolved to bind to particular DNA sequences.
Extracellular matrix proteins including vitronectin, fibronectin, osteopontin, laminin, and others, bind to particular integrin receptors through an RGD peptide motif [25].
Under resting conditions, most NF- κB resides in the cytoplasm bound to particular inhibitory proteins of the inhibitor of kappaB (I κB) family, IκB α, IkB β or I κB ɛ, which generate an additional degree of complexity.
Allergies occur when the body reacts to particular proteins.
Caliper sells a robotic machine that can perform tens of thousands of experiments a day, testing, for example, which potential drug compounds bind to a particular protein.
Finding a compound that selectively binds to a particular protein is a highly challenging and typically expensive procedure in the drug development process, where more than 90% of candidate compounds fail due to cross-reactivity and/or toxicity issues.
