An important finding, in the paper titledStructural Basis for DNA Recognition by FOXC2, of the Research Team of Professor Chen Yongheng from NHC (National Health Commission of the PRC) Key Laboratory of Cancer Proteomics (Xiangya Hospital, CSU) was officially published in the international authoritative academic journalNucleic Acids Research(IF= 11.56). Professor Chen Yongheng is the corresponding author of the paper; Doctor Chen Xiaojuan and postdoctoral researcher Wei Hudie are co-first authors.
As a transcription factor in the FOX family, FOXC2 mainly regulates fat cell metabolism, bone tissue development, lymphangiogenesis, lung maturation, etc. Its abnormal expression is closely related to some tumors including breast cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma and lymphoma. The Research Team dissected the crystal structure of two compounds of FOXC2 and DNA for the first time using X-ray diffraction method, analyzed FOXC2 from the perspectives of biochemistry, molecular biology and bioinformatics to identify the specificity of DNA and probed into the impacts of FOXC2 mutations on DNA binding and protein stability. The analysis results indicate that some mutations sharply weaken the binding capability of FOXC2 and DNA and the stability of protein and provide a new theoretical basis and a new research approach for the studies of tumor pathogenesis and medical transformation as well as the development of new techniques for clinical diagnosis and treatment of cancers.
Established in 1974,Nucleic Acids Research is a highly influential and authoritative journal in the world’s domain of biology (Zone 1 of biology) and has extremely high requirements for the innovation and the content description of papers. The Research Team of Professor Chen Yongheng has long been dedicated to the research of crystal structure and function of transcription factors. Over five years, the Team has published many research papers in high-level journals such asNucleic Acids Research.
(Link to paper: https://doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkz077)
Source: Xiangya Hospital
