PROJECT #18806 RESEARCH FOR CANCER
FOLDING PERFORMANCE PROFILE

PROJECT SUMMARY

Disordered proteins are essential regulators of cellular function.

In particular, they regulate the transcription of genes.

In this project we want to understand how disordered proteins involved in gene regulation interact with each other and how their interactions are modulated.

Disordered proteins are often modified by the attachment of chemical groups, for example via phosphorylation.

This addition of a negatively charged phosphoryl group can change how they interact with binding partners, for example favoring binding to a positively charged partner and disfavoring binding to a negatively charged or hydrophobic binding site.

In this project we look specifically at small fragments of disordered proteins to understand how phosphorylation mediates their interactions.

In subsequent projects we will look at larger fragments or even full-length disordered proteins.

Our research may help to better understand the diverse functions of disordered proteins in regulating genes -- a starting point for understanding the dysregulation of disordered proteins, which is implicated in the development of age-related diseases such as cancer..

PROJECT INFO

Manager(s): Dr. Sonya Hanson

Institution: Flatiron Institute

Project URL: https://www.simonsfoundation.org/people/sonya-hanson/

PROJECT WORK UNIT SUMMARY

Atoms: 721,242

Core: 0xa9

Status: Public