Lab Members

Shama Shah

Project Assistant
Heddle Initiative Research Unit
RIKEN

Email: shama.shah at riken.jp

Research Interests

Increasing resistance to antibacterial drugs continues to be a major threat to public health. As traditional antibacterials become ineffective, there is a need to find new therapeutic agents. Type II topoisomerases are major targets in both cancer therapy and as antibacterials, where the enzyme targets are DNA gyrase and Topoisomerase IV1. My area of research is a DNA mimicking protein, both the shape and charge distribution of the dimer, mimic that of DNA and hence this similarity allows DNA mimicking protein to bind to gyrase in preference to the natural DNA substrate, thus inhibiting the enzyme. This finding widens the possible inhibitory spectrum of mimicking proteins and may increase its attractiveness as a basis for future peptide antibacterial or anti-cancer development as well as a tool for probing the mechanism of action of topoisomerases and can also become option as a peptide drug.

Drlica, K. et al. Quinolones: Action and Resistance Updated. Curr. Top. Med. Chem. 9, 981-998 (2009).