ACTIVATION OF ISLET INFLAMMATION BY CYTOKINE SIGNALING IN PANCREATIC BETA CELLS
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$406,838.00
Summary
Type 1 diabetes affects up to 4.7 million people world-wide and its incidence is increasing. It is the result of killing of insulin-producing pancreatic beta cells by cells of the immune system. This project aims to understand how immune cell invasion of the pancreas can become worse because of protein interactions that occur within beta cells, and how these cells can contribute to their own demise.
Correlative Structure-function Studies Of Cis- And Trans-Golgi Membrane Traffic In Mammalian Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$649,531.00
Summary
This project combines imaging by light and electron microscopy with additional techniques for studying protein function at the molecular level, to elucidate how changes in the 3D organisation of cellular machinery can lead to fundamental changes in the function and health of mammalian cells. Although this work includes detailed investigation of the 'insulin factory', it has the potential to modify established concepts on membrane traffic and protein secretion well beyond the field of diabetes.