9307388 Yamamoto The glucocorticoid receptor is an intracellular factor that binds to a specific class of circulating hormonal steroids; this hormone-receptor interaction triggers binding of the receptor to specific stress on DNA and a subsequent change in the expression of nearby genes. Recent evidence suggests that in addition to the hormone, certain other factors also interact with the receptor and modify its activity; these include a heat shock protein, phosphate addicts, and DNA itself. Dr. Yamamoto proposes that these other interacting species may also convey signaling information to the receptor, and that the receptor consequently serves to integrate signals from different regulatory input pathways. He will investigate the nature and consequences of these various receptor-ligand interactions, using a range of molecular, genetic, biochemical and structural approaches. As signal transduction processes are universal and fundamental for communication within and between cells, a better understanding of the glucocorticoid receptor signaling pathway, and of the mechanisms by which multiple signaling inputs may converge on a single factor, could be generally significant for analyses of many transactions of biological information. ***
