Oxidative Damage Control.   Reactive radicals are commonly the culprits of biological damage leading to, but not limited to, cardiovascular damage, strokes, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease, autism, and diabetic neuropathy.  Exogenous small molecule antioxidants (reductants in chemical terms) such as Vitamins C and E act to “mop up” the radicals as gratuitious scavengers.  Endogenous small molecules such as glutathione perform similar scavenging ability.  Endogenous enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and catalase are the heart of most organisms’ antioxidant defenses who live in an oxygenated environment.  We primarily focus on the enzyme superoxide dismutase in our lab, particularly with regard to its ability to bind DNA and RNA in the mitochondria.

Protein-nucleic acid interactions.  A major force governing these interactions is the redistribution of small molecules that accompanies the macromolecular binding. These "Lilliputian" effects can be quite significant, and are one of my current interests. These studies involve equilibrium binding studies and structural studies of peptide- or protein-RNA or -DNA interactions. The proteins under study include the interaction of both bacterial and mitochondrial Superoxide Dismutases with DNA and RNA. We currently use techniques like fluorescence spectroscopy, UV/Vis spectroscopy, nitrocellulose filter binding assays and electromobility shift assays.

Gene expression (particularly translational regulation).   Expression of proteins can be regulated at several points.  Most commonly, transcription and translation are regulated, however post-transcriptional events such as mRNA stability is coupled to translation regulation via miRNA, siRNA, RNAi, shRNA, did I miss any? We are working on ways to create, package, and deliver these regulatory RNA molecules into cells for therapeutic purposes.

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