TY - JOUR A2 - Iatrou, Kostas AU - Guo, Hongfeng AU - Tian, Yi AU - Lu, Hai AU - Wei, Yong AU - Ying, Dajun PY - 2010 DA - 2010/07/14 TI - Upregulation of Endogenous HMOX1 Expression by a Computer-Designed Artificial Transcription Factor SP - 168689 VL - 2010 AB - Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is well known as a cytoprotective factor. Research has revealed that it is a promising therapeutic target for cardiovascular diseases. In the current study, an HMOX1 (HO-1 gene) enhancer-specific artificial zinc-finger protein (AZP) was designed using bioinformatical methods. Then, an artificial transcription factor (ATF) was constructed based on the AZP. In the ATF, the p65 functional domain was used as the effector domain (ED), and a nuclear localization sequence (NLS) was also included. We next analyzed the affinity of the ATF to the HMOX1 enhancer and the effect of the ATF on endogenous HMOX1 expression. The results suggest that the ATF could effectively upregulate endogenous HMOX1 expression in ECV304 cells. With further research, the ATF could be developed as a potential drug for cardiovascular diseases. SN - 2314-6133 UR - https://doi.org/10.1155/2010/168689 DO - 10.1155/2010/168689 JF - Journal of Biomedicine and Biotechnology PB - Hindawi Publishing Corporation KW - ER -