Jeff Staudinger, Assistant Professor of

Pharmacology and Toxicology, KU

Staudinger has spent the last four years characterizing the hormone-activated transcription factor molecule called the pregnane-X-receptor, or PXR. PXR is a member of the nuclear receptor super-family of transcription factors whose function is activated by a wide array of drugs instead of one specific hormone. Staudinger's research has focused primarily on PXR's role in liver cells. Staudinger developed a genetically engineered mouse that lacks a functional PXR gene. Using this tool, he has been able to show that PXR is a broad-specificity ‘drug sensor’ that regulates the expression of certain drug-metabolizing enzymes in liver cells. PXR also regulates the expression of specific molecular pumps that transport drugs into and out of liver cells. Funded by the COBRE grant, Staudinger will continue to define further the role of PXR target genes and determine which drugs are removed by their protein products.