Screening of phytochemicals as potential anti-breast cancer agents targeting HER2: an in-silico approach.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women around the world. Human Epidermal growth factor Receptor-2 (HER2) is a membrane tyrosine kinase overexpressed in 30% of human breast cancers; thus, it serves as an important drug target. Currently available HER2 inhibitor lapatinib targets the ATP binding site of the cytoplasmic kinase domain, blocking autophosphorylation and activation of HER-2.

Two sets of RNAi components are required for heterochromatin formation in trans triggered by truncated transgenes.

Across kingdoms, RNA interference (RNAi) has been shown to control gene expression at the transcriptional- or the post-transcriptional level. Here, we describe a mechanism which involves both aspects: truncated transgenes, which fail to produce intact mRNA, induce siRNA accumulation and silencing of homologous loci in trans in the ciliate Paramecium We show that silencing is achieved by co-transcriptional silencing, associated with repressive histone marks at the endogenous gene. This is accompanied by secondary siRNA accumulation, strictly limited to the open reading frame of the remote locus.