Cancer Research Technology grants AstraZeneca an exclusive licence to a key patent in the field of nuclear receptors
Cancer Research Technology has announced that AstraZeneca has licensed exclusive worldwide rights to a patent family relating to a nuclear receptor/co-activator binding motif.
Nuclear receptors require co-activator binding in order to activate gene transcription.
Ligand-induced nuclear receptor conformational changes facilitate the recruitment of certain co-activators through the recognition of a specific motif contained within the co-activator protein.
Prof Malcolm Parker's studies, funded by Cancer Research UK, identified this motif within the co-activator protein known as the LXXLL motif (where L is Leucine and X is any amino acid).
The nuclear receptor family represents a plethora of therapeutic targets for many clinical conditions. AstraZeneca's research interests initially will focus on the area of respiratory and inflammation; however, broader application is possible across all of the company's research areas.
Targeting the nuclear receptor/co-activator interaction represents an alternative strategy for the inhibition of nuclear receptors.
