UTILIZING INTRINSIC TRYPTOPHAN FLUORESCENCE IN THE ANDROGEN RECEPTOR: SEARCHING FOR AN INTERMEDIATE IN THE LIGAND BINDING PROCESS
Michael Seaman
Dr. Matthew Skeels, Faculty Mentor
St. Lawrence University McNair Scholars Program
It has been demonstrated that nuclear steroid receptors can transiently access an intermediate state, one which aids in the process of ligand binding and unbinding. The discovery of this intermediate has implications in drug design and discovery. The overarching goal of our experiment was to use the intrinsic tryptophan fluorescence of the androgen receptor to search for and characterize an intermediate in the ligand binding process. In our studies, we have produced, isolated and purified a recombinant human androgen receptor in E. coli. Currently, research is in progress to gather fluorescence data.