YrdC translational control: physical and functional interactions, identification and influence of amino acid phosphorylation. This project will expand our basic understanding of the mechanisms with which a newly identified and highly conserved protein, YrdC203 regulates the process of protein synthesis from mRNA. This work will lead to basic insights into how gene expression is regulated at the level of translation, and generate valuable research tools, such as YrdC203 knockdown tools, peptide m ....YrdC translational control: physical and functional interactions, identification and influence of amino acid phosphorylation. This project will expand our basic understanding of the mechanisms with which a newly identified and highly conserved protein, YrdC203 regulates the process of protein synthesis from mRNA. This work will lead to basic insights into how gene expression is regulated at the level of translation, and generate valuable research tools, such as YrdC203 knockdown tools, peptide mimetics and decoys, phospho-specific and phospho-non specific antibodies. Exploitation of this breakthrough science will open up new avenues for therapeutic intervention in the future, while commercial exploitation of such reagents that recognise or interfere with YrdC203 will generate economic returns to Australia.Read moreRead less
Biochemical properties of S-nitroso-myoglobin and its role in regulating nitric oxide bio-availability. Nitric oxide (NO) stimulates blood vessel dilation. Vessel dilation is essential to maintaining blood pressure. Altered NO-regulation leads to vessel dysfunction. Within blood vessels, myoglobin regulates NO concentrations through oxidation and binding reactions. In contrast, S-nitroso-myoglobin represents a novel source of NO in humans. The goal of this study is to expand the knowledge on ....Biochemical properties of S-nitroso-myoglobin and its role in regulating nitric oxide bio-availability. Nitric oxide (NO) stimulates blood vessel dilation. Vessel dilation is essential to maintaining blood pressure. Altered NO-regulation leads to vessel dysfunction. Within blood vessels, myoglobin regulates NO concentrations through oxidation and binding reactions. In contrast, S-nitroso-myoglobin represents a novel source of NO in humans. The goal of this study is to expand the knowledge on NO-regulation by myoglobin through determining S-nitroso-myoglobin's - chemical stability, rates of formation and decay, concentration in human vessels and whether it can cause blood vessel dilation similar to authentic NO. Such novel data represents a major fundamental advance in understanding the role of myoglobin in NO-homeostasis.Read moreRead less
Nuclear Trafficking of Apolipoprotein-E. Apolipoprotein-E (apoE) regulates specific age-related neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. The role of apoE in these disorders is unclear. This project will benefit our community by providing the basic cell biology knowledge required to understand disease mechanisms and ultimately provide avenues for better treatments. Aspects of the project will focus on the modification of apoE by carbohydrates and the interaction of apoE with cellular carboh ....Nuclear Trafficking of Apolipoprotein-E. Apolipoprotein-E (apoE) regulates specific age-related neurodegenerative and cardiovascular diseases. The role of apoE in these disorders is unclear. This project will benefit our community by providing the basic cell biology knowledge required to understand disease mechanisms and ultimately provide avenues for better treatments. Aspects of the project will focus on the modification of apoE by carbohydrates and the interaction of apoE with cellular carbohydrate-containing structures. The importance of carbohydrates in the regulation of cellular and protein function is increasingly recognised and forms a foundation for the rapidly expanding discipline of glycobiology. This project will strengthen Australia's glycobiology research capacity.Read moreRead less
Molecular mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal. Muscle growth and regeneration is critically dependent on its stem cell compartment. We have discovered that the p38 MAPK pathway is essential for stem cell self-renewal in the C2C12 myogenic cell line. This proposal seeks to understand the molecular basis of stem cell self-renewal in skeletal muscles, data that may be applicable to many stem cell systems, and to the enormous promise of stem cell therapies for injury and diseases of the aged. We wi ....Molecular mechanisms of stem cell self-renewal. Muscle growth and regeneration is critically dependent on its stem cell compartment. We have discovered that the p38 MAPK pathway is essential for stem cell self-renewal in the C2C12 myogenic cell line. This proposal seeks to understand the molecular basis of stem cell self-renewal in skeletal muscles, data that may be applicable to many stem cell systems, and to the enormous promise of stem cell therapies for injury and diseases of the aged. We will attempt to alter the balance of stem cell production by enforced p38 expression, and take microarray and proteomics approaches to define stem cell pathways.Read moreRead less