RNA is an attractive drug target with tremendous potential for future therapies of systemic and cancer-related pathologies. Only 1.5% of the human genome code for proteins yet more than 75% is transcribed into RNA. Thus, a large proportion of RNA is non-protein-coding including 3’UTRs of mRNAs with important regulatory functions. This makes them attractive drug targets considering that current therapeutics target only 700 proteins leaving most of the genome untouched. Especially cancer-related genes are often considered undruggable due to a lack of a classical drug binding pockets. Therefore, targeting these proteins via their mRNA 3’UTR region is an attractive alternative. We will establish a screening pipeline for small molecules targeting 3’UTR segments of cancer-related genes using binding and functional assays as well as RNA-based mRNA pulldowns. Integrative structural biology will reveal the structural basis for RNA binding activity and function of these compounds. Our acquired knowledge will pave the path towards design of molecular probes and future medicines to fight cancer.

Sustainable Development Goals

Masaryk University is committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals, which aim to improve the conditions and quality of life on our planet by 2030.