How to Interrogate Epigenetic Events in Live Cells
Topics covered include:
- The importance of epigeneics in disease
- Role of bromodomain proteins in gene expression
- How to monitor protein:protein and small molecule:protein interactions in live cells
- How research teams identified novel bivalent bromodomain inhibitors as potential therapeutics
Summary
Epigenetics is the study of changes in phenotype casued by modification of gene expression rather than altercation of the genetic code itself. Bromodomain proteins, methyltransferases and demethylases, histone acetylases and deacetylases, are just a few proteins mediating the modification of gene expression. Aberrant expression of these and other important cellular proteins can lead to diseases such as cancer and inflammatory disorders. A significant goal of current research is to find modulators of epigenetic proteins and develop new therapeutics.
Researchers have made key discoveries in therapeutic epigenetic inhibitors recently. To better understand the mechanisms of action, we need to better elucidate how the inhibitors interact with their target proteins and identify any interacting partners, both on- and off-target. Dr. Danette Daniels will present new approaches using BRET (bioluminescence resonance energy transfer) to directly measure drug-target interactions and proteins binding to chromatin within live cells.
Speaker
Danette Daniels, PhD
Senior Research Scientist
Danette Daniels received her Ph.D. in biophysics from Yale University, then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, characterizing transcriptional regulation of the Wnt signaling pathway using X-ray crystallography and biochemical approaches. She has been at Promega for over 10 years and is currently a Group Leader developing applications for studies of global protein:protein and protein:DNA interactions using NanoLuc and HaloTag technologies with an emphasis in epigenetics research.