| abstract |
It has been discovered that the degree of hormonal activity of candidate ligands correlates better with degree of fit into DNA than with the strength of receptor binding, and that the receptors in the steroid/thyroid hormone/vitamin A and D family alter the physiochemical properties of DNA and in concert with other transcription factors facilitate insertion of the ligand into DNA. As a result, the magnitude of the response is a function of the structure of the ligand as it related to insertion and fit into the DNA and the specificity of the response is a function of the stereochemistry of the receptor through binding to both the ligand and to the DNA. Based on these discoveries, a method is described herein for identifying drugs having increased activity as compared with the natural ligand for receptors such as the estrogenic receptors. |