Denise Okafor

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Denise Okafor

Research Summary

Structural mechanisms of signaling and regulation in protein complexes.

Huck Affiliations

Links

Publication Tags

Proteins Liver Cytoplasmic And Nuclear Receptors Ligands Rna Iron Agonist Magnesium Phospholipids Catalysis Molecular Dynamics Simulation Hormone Protein Steroid Receptors Enzymes Muscle Cells Electrons Rho Guanine Nucleotide Exchange Factors Alkylation Lipids Hormones Ligand Phospholipid Ions Water

Most Recent Publications

A phospholipid mimetic targeting LRH-1 ameliorates colitis

Suzanne G. Mays, Emma H. D'Agostino, Autumn R. Flynn, Xiangsheng Huang, Guohui Wang, Xu Liu, Elizabeth J. Millings, C. Denise Okafor, Anamika Patel, Michael L. Cato, Jeffery L. Cornelison, Diana Melchers, René Houtman, David D. Moore, John W. Calvert, Nathan T. Jui, Eric A. Ortlund, 2022, Cell Chemical Biology on p. 1174-1186.e7

Ligand Specificity in Progesterone Receptor

Namita Dube, Denise C. Okafor, 2022, FASEB Journal

Structural and Biophysical Mechanisms Driving Differential Hormone Response in Steroid Receptors

Sabab H. Khan, Sean M. Braet, Stephen J. Koehler, Elizabeth Elacqua, Ganesh S. Anand, Denise Okafor, 2022, FASEB Journal

Structural Basis for an Unprecedented Enzymatic Alkylation in Cylindrocyclophane Biosynthesis

Nathaniel R. Braffman, Terry B. Ruskoski, Katherine M. Davis, Nathaniel R. Glasser, Cassidy Johnson, C. Denise Okafor, Amie K. Boal, Emily P. Balskus, 2022, eLife

Differential Modulation of Nuclear Receptor LRH-1 through Targeting Buried and Surface Regions of the Binding Pocket

Michael L. Cato, Jeffery L. Cornelison, Racheal M. Spurlin, Valentine V. Courouble, Anamika B. Patel, Autumn R. Flynn, Alyssa M. Johnson, C. Denise Okafor, Filipp Frank, Emma H. D'Agostino, Patrick R. Griffin, Nathan T. Jui, Eric A. Ortlund, 2022, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry

Ancestral sequence reconstruction for evolutionary characterization of proteins

Namita Dube, Sabab H. Khan, C. Denise Okafor, 2022, Trends in Biochemical Sciences on p. 98-99

The Rho-GEF PIX-1 directs assembly or stability of lateral attachment structures between muscle cells

Jasmine C. Moody, Hiroshi Qadota, April R. Reedy, C. Denise Okafor, Niveda Shanmugan, Yohei Matsunaga, Courtney J. Christian, Eric A. Ortlund, Guy M. Benian, 2020, Nature Communications

Allosteric regulation of thioesterase superfamily member 1 by lipid sensor domain binding fatty acids and lysophosphatidylcholine

Matthew C. Tillman, Norihiro Imai, Yue Li, Manoj Khadka, C. Denise Okafor, Puneet Juneja, Akshitha Adhiyaman, Susan J. Hagen, David E. Cohen, Eric A. Ortlund, 2020, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America on p. 22080-22089

Cutting in-line with iron: ribosomal function and non-oxidative RNA cleavage

Rebecca Guth-Metzler, Marcus S. Bray, Moran Frenkel-Pinter, Suttipong Suttapitugsakul, Claudia Montllor-Albalate, Jessica C. Bowman, Ronghu Wu, Amit R. Reddi, C. Denise Okafor, Jennifer B. Glass, Loren Dean Williams, 2020, Nucleic Acids Research on p. 8663-8674

Rewiring ancient residue interaction networks drove the evolution of specificity in steroid receptors

C. Denise Okafor, David Hercules, Steven A. Kell, Eric A. Ortlund, 2020, Structure with Folding & design on p. 196-205.e3

Most-Cited Papers

RNA with iron(II) as a cofactor catalyses electron transfer

Chiaolong Hsiao, I. Chun Chou, C. Denise Okafor, Jessica C. Bowman, Eric B. O'neill, Shreyas S. Athavale, Anton S. Petrov, Nicholas V. Hud, Roger M. Wartell, Stephen C. Harvey, Loren Dean Williams, 2013, Nature Chemistry on p. 525-528

RNA-magnesium-protein interactions in large ribosomal subunit

Anton S. Petrov, Chad R. Bernier, Chiaolong Hsiao, C. Denise Okafor, Emmanuel Tannenbaum, Joshua Stern, Eric Gaucher, Dana Schneider, Nicholas V. Hud, Stephen C. Harvey, Loren Dean Williams, 2012, Journal of Physical Chemistry B on p. 8113-8120

Ribosomal small subunit domains radiate from a central core

Burak Gulen, Anton S. Petrov, C. Denise Okafor, Drew Vander Wood, Eric B. O'Neill, Nicholas V. Hud, Loren Dean Williams, 2016, Scientific Reports

Iron mediates catalysis of nucleic acid processing enzymes: support for Fe(II) as a cofactor before the great oxidation event

C. Denise Okafor, Kathryn A. Lanier, Anton S. Petrov, Shreyas S. Athavale, Jessica C. Bowman, Nicholas V. Hud, Loren Dean Williams, 2017, Nucleic Acids Research on p. 3634-3642

The first crystal structure of a DNA-free nuclear receptor DNA binding domain sheds light on DNA-driven allostery in the glucocorticoid receptor

Filipp Frank, C. Denise Okafor, Eric A. Ortlund, 2018, Scientific Reports

Crystal structures of the nuclear receptor, liver receptor homolog 1, bound to synthetic agonists

Suzanne G. Mays, C. Denise Okafor, Richard J. Whitby, Devrishi Goswami, Józef Stec, Autumn R. Flynn, Michael C. Dugan, Nathan T. Jui, Patrick R. Griffin, Eric A. Ortlund, 2016, Journal of Biological Chemistry on p. 25281-25291

Nonenzymatic ligation of DNA with a reversible step and a final linkage that can be used in PCR

Aaron E. Engelhart, Brian J. Cafferty, C. Denise Okafor, Michael C. Chen, Loren Dean Williams, David G. Lynn, Nicholas V. Hud, 2012, ChemBioChem on p. 1121-1124

Structural and dynamics comparison of thermostability in ancient, modern, and consensus elongation factor tus

C. Denise Okafor, Manish C. Pathak, Crystal E. Fagan, Nicholas C. Bauer, Megan F. Cole, Eric A. Gaucher, Eric A. Ortlund, 2018, Structure with Folding & design on p. 118-129.e3

Structure and dynamics of the liver receptor homolog 1-PGC1α complex

Suzanne G. Mays, C. Denise Okafor, Micheal L. Tuntland, Richard J. Whitby, Venkatasubramanian Dharmarajan, Józef Stec, Patrick R. Griffin, Eric A. Ortlund, 2017, Molecular Pharmacology on p. 1-11

Development of the first low nanomolar liver receptor homolog-1 agonist through structure-guided design

Suzanne G. Mays, Autumn R. Flynn, Jeffery L. Cornelison, C. Denise Okafor, Hongtao Wang, Guohui Wang, Xiangsheng Huang, Heather N. Donaldson, Elizabeth J. Millings, Rohini Polavarapu, David D. Moore, John W. Calvert, Nathan T. Jui, Eric A. Ortlund, 2019, Journal of Medicinal Chemistry on p. 11022-11034