Key Modulator of Inflammation Identified

Researchers studying the molecular biology of inflammation and autoimmune disease have found that a protein called ELKS is an essential regulatory element of the IkappaB kinase (IKK) complex, which in turn modulates the activity of nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-kB), a family of transcription factors that plays a seminal role in inflammation, apoptosis, development, and cancer.

Investigators at the Salk Institute (La Jolla, CA, USA; www.salk.edu) reported in the June 25, 2004, issue of Science that silencing ELKS expression by RNA interference blocked induced expression of NF-kB target genes, including the NF-kB inhibitor IkBalpha and proinflammatory genes such as cyclo-oxygenase 2 and interleukin 8. More...