36th Annual Student Research Conference
STEP Off: Early Discovery of Striatal Enriched Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase (STEP) Inhibitors using Computational Methods
Georgia Hollingsworth
Dr. Bill R. Miller, Faculty Mentor
Striatal enriched protein tyrosine phosphatase (STEP) is a brain specific phosphatase theorized to mediate neuroplasticity. Interestingly, both overexpression and underexpression of STEP are associated with severe illnesses, such as Alzheimer's, fragile X syndrome, and schizophrenia. Current research has revealed only one inhibitor that is both difficult to synthesize and extraordinarily expensive. The development of more practical inhibitors is integral to the understanding of STEP-linked diseases. Using computational methods, this drug design process can be streamlined allowing for a faster and less expensive investigation of a large number of compounds. This project focuses on a pool of FDA approved drugs for testing. These drugs are ranked by binding and specificity. Specificity is determined through docking of the drugs to the two most similar phosphatases in the body, PTPRR and He-PTP. The outcome of this project will hopefully lead to a new direction of treatment for many neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric diseases.
Keywords: Computational, Chemistry, Medical, Medicine , Inhibitor, Biology, Kinase, Phosphatase
Topic(s):Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Chemistry
Biology
Presentation Type: Oral Presentation
Session: 208-6
Location: MG 1000
Time: 11:30