Transcriptional silencer protein NRF

Abstract

NRF is a novel inhibitory transcription factor binding to specific DNA sequences and silencing transcriptional activity of proximal DNA-binding activators, e.g. NF-KB binding sites. NRF is a modulator protein of NF-KB family members controlling genes of significant biomedical importance such as those encoding inflammatory cytokines, MHC proteins, cell adhesion molecules, and viruses. Based on this it represents a molecular target in the development of novel anti-inflammatory therapies for a variety of pathologic disorders such as ischemia, hemorrhagic and septic shock, allograft rejection, bacterial meningitis, acute airway inflammation and the pulmonary complications induced by cardiopulmonary bypass. Furthermore, this might apply for certain cancers and other diseases. NRF as a target for drugs (obtained e.g. by IITS) is protected. Agonists as well as antagonists of NRF are also protected. Further applications such as the use of NRF protein and its fusion proteins or NRF DNA sequence in sense or antisense orientation in gene therapy are also protected.

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