Greehey CCRI Seminar Series: Elizabeth Wasmuth, PhD (UTHSA – Department of Biochemistry & Structural Biology)
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Research in the Wasmuth Laboratory focuses on understanding the discrete signals that allow a common steroid receptor to function as both a differentiation factor and an oncogene. We hypothesize that this duality can be influenced by structural changes within the receptor itself. We employ a multidisciplinary approach of biochemistry, structural biology, molecular biology, and cancer biology.
Using single-particle cryo-electron microscopy, we recently discovered that the androgen receptor has unique shape-shifting features that readily permit promiscuous binding to DNA in collaboration with oncoprotein cofactors. We demonstrated that this interaction can contribute to the androgen receptor’s oncogenicity in the context of advanced prostate cancer. Implications of this and ongoing work in the lab will lay the foundation for the development of more effective steroid receptor-targeting agents in disease.