Lesson 16: Inflammation, Steroids, and Zinc Fingers

• Inflammation and steroids
• Understand the molecular basis of inflammation to include the role of phospholipases, arachidonic acid, cyclooxgenase, lipoxygenase, prostaglandins, thromboxanes, and leukotrienes
• Explain the molecular mechanism of action for steroids as anti-inflammatories
• Understand the emerging relevance of inflammatory processes in various diseases
• Understand the importance of C-reactive protein levels and the enzyme drug targets that pharmaceutical companies are focusing on
• Understand the roles of prednisone and cortisone medications respectively
• Zinc fingers
• Diagram and effectively discuss the structure of zinc fingers; clearly show the amino acid residues that interact with the zinc ion and how zinc fingers affect protein shape
• Explain the underlying basis for the zinc finger mechanism of action in steroidal interactions with DNA
• Discuss a new area of drug research that targets the zinc fingers in estrogen receptors to treat breast cancer