Tuyển tập các báo cáo nghiên cứu về sinh học được đăng trên tạp chí sinh học Journal of Biology đề tài: Research news Agonizing. | J. Biol. Journal of Biology BioMed Central Research news Agonizing Hedgehog Jonathan B Weitzman Published 6 November 2002 Journal of Biology 2002 1 7 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at http content 1 2 7 2002 BioMed Central Ltd ISSN 1475-4924 An approach using chemical genetics has identified small-molecule agonists of the Hedgehog signaling pathway that may lead the way to drugs for chronic degenerative diseases. It is a rare treat when a drug discovery program teaches us something about the biology of the process that it attempts to modulate. The paper by Maria Frank-Kamenetsky and colleagues in this issue of the Journal of Biology 1 presents a compelling example of how the search for therapeutics can provide powerful experimental tools and insights into fundamental biology blurring the distinction between applied and basic research. By characterizing a small group of chemically similar agonists of the Hedgehog signaling pathway Frank-Kamenetsky et al. have been able to propose a new model for how the Smoothened component of the Hedgehog-receptor complex works and to hint at the existence of naturalligand agonists of the Hedgehog signaling pathway see The bottom line box for a summary of their work . Hedgehog history Signaling by the Hedgehog Hh family of secreted proteins plays a central role in regulating cell differentiation and tissue patterning during development 2 . The hedgehog gene hh was first identified by virtue of its role in the specification of positional identity during Drosophila embryonic segmentation and it was subsequently found to control patterning of structures such as the eye and the abdominal cuticle. In mammals there are three hh homologs called Sonic Hedgehog Indian Hedgehog and Desert Hedgehog Shh Ihh and Dhh respectively which have been implicated in patterning The bottom line Frank-Kamenetsky and colleagues designed a cell-based high-throughput assay to screen 140 000 .
