Inhibitors of Phosphatases and Gene Expression

This project is designed to assess the feasibility of producing for commercial application. Severalserine/threonine (ser/thr) protein phosphatases which demonstrate specificity towards specific typesOne particular extract has already been demonstrated to have activity which inhibits only type 1 prodate, five ser/thr protein phosphatase types have been biochemically identified and they are known tphysiological regulation of a variety of biological phenomena ranging from gene transcription to celcontraction. Currently the only known inhibitors of these phosphatases are non-specific, either inhiprotein phosphatases or inhibiting other enzymes as well (i.e. protein kinases). In the ser/thr protwe propose to purify are potentially vastly superior to current inhibitors because their activity isphosphatase. Several extracts containing inhibitors of AP-1 mediated gene transcription have been idtranscription through AP-1 is known to involve the fos/jun proto oncogenes and to be associated withcarcinogenesis. The inhibitors of transcriptional activation have application for the research commutherapeutic use for proliferative diseases.