This page was produced as an assignment for Genetics 677, an undergraduate course at UW-Madison.
Chemical Genetics
Lenalidomide. Structure from PubChem.
Chemical genetics refers to the use of small molecules to alter protein function or gene expression. Using the NCBI database PubChem, I searched for chemicals that have an effect on HBA1. Though no results were found for HBA1, one small molecule was shown to have an effect on HBA2 expression. [1]
Lenalidomide, a drug used in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, was shown in one study (AID: 327436), to down-regulate HBA2 [2]. Themyelodysplastic syndromes (or MDS) are a class of hematopoetic stem cell disorders. Though lenalidomide was known to be an effective treatment for MDS, its molecular function was unknown. The study, by Pellagatti, et al, sought to compare the effects of lenalidomide on erythroblasts (blood stem cells) in MDS patients and healthy controls. They found that after 7 days of treatment with lenalidomide, HBA2 and other genes involved in erythropoesis were down-regulated compared to the controls. They concluded from these and other findings that lenalidomide functions to inhibit the growth of erythroblasts from MDS patients. [3]
Lenalidomide, a drug used in the treatment of myelodysplastic syndromes, was shown in one study (AID: 327436), to down-regulate HBA2 [2]. Themyelodysplastic syndromes (or MDS) are a class of hematopoetic stem cell disorders. Though lenalidomide was known to be an effective treatment for MDS, its molecular function was unknown. The study, by Pellagatti, et al, sought to compare the effects of lenalidomide on erythroblasts (blood stem cells) in MDS patients and healthy controls. They found that after 7 days of treatment with lenalidomide, HBA2 and other genes involved in erythropoesis were down-regulated compared to the controls. They concluded from these and other findings that lenalidomide functions to inhibit the growth of erythroblasts from MDS patients. [3]
References
- PubChem: Integrated Platform of Small Molecules and Biological Activities. Bolton E, Wang Y, Thiessen PA, Bryant SH. Chapter 12 IN Annual Reports in Computational Chemistry, Volume 4, American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 2008 Apr.
- National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem BioAssay Database; AID=327436. Source=ChEMBL. [April 2011].
- Lenalidomide inhibits the malignant clone and up-regulates the SPARC gene mapping to the commonly deleted region in 5q- syndrome patients. Pellagatti A, Jädersten M, Forsblom AM, Cattan H, Christensson B, Emanuelsson EK, Merup M, Nilsson L, Samuelsson J, Sander B, Wainscoat JS, Boultwood J, Hellström-Lindberg E .Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2007 Jul 3;104(27):11406-11. Epub 2007 Jun 18. (PubMed)
