Nutrient Dependent Signalling In Bone Via Calcium Sensing Receptors
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$226,650.00
Summary
Osteoporosis is a major health problem that affects as many as 10% of the Australian Community and costs the health budget millions of dollars each year. A number of key nutritional factors including calcium and dietary protein intake are known to be important in the development of osteoporosis. This proposal will test the hypothesis that human bone cells express a protein which senses calcium and amino acids, the calcium-sensing receptor, and thereby respond to nuritional signals arising from t ....Osteoporosis is a major health problem that affects as many as 10% of the Australian Community and costs the health budget millions of dollars each year. A number of key nutritional factors including calcium and dietary protein intake are known to be important in the development of osteoporosis. This proposal will test the hypothesis that human bone cells express a protein which senses calcium and amino acids, the calcium-sensing receptor, and thereby respond to nuritional signals arising from the presence of calcium ions and amino acids in plasma. Furthermore, we propose that by promoting osteoblast proliferation, maturation and survival, the calcium sensing receptor acts as the key molecular mechanism by which dietary calcium and protein promotes bone formation.These studies have potential to explain relationships between bpne resorptive activity, which raises local calcium concentrations, and bone formation activity and the coupling of bone forming and resorbing activity. These studies have the potential to explain the positive effects of calcium and protein intake on bone mass and may also shed light on the regulation of the coupling between osteoblastic and osteoclastic activityRead moreRead less
Molecular Determinants Of Amino Acid-dependent Signalling By The Calcium-sensing Receptor
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$566,035.00
Summary
Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and an alternative energy source to carbohydrate and fat. Proteins are major structural components of our bodies. They also fulfil an amazing diversity of cellular and bodily functions acting, for example, as enzymes (biological catalysts), receptors, molecular chaperones and biological machines. Thus, amino acids are key nutrients and the human body has developed mechanisms for tightly regulating cellular responses depending upon their levels in b ....Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins and an alternative energy source to carbohydrate and fat. Proteins are major structural components of our bodies. They also fulfil an amazing diversity of cellular and bodily functions acting, for example, as enzymes (biological catalysts), receptors, molecular chaperones and biological machines. Thus, amino acids are key nutrients and the human body has developed mechanisms for tightly regulating cellular responses depending upon their levels in blood. Identifying amino acid sensing molecules and identifying the mechanisms they use to control cellular responses is thus a key issue in human biology. The applicant identified the calcium-sensing receptor as an amino acid sensor and has shown that this receptor provides a means by which fluctuations in amino acid levels regulate the secretion of the key calcium-regulating hormone, PTH. In the current proposal, the mechanisms that link amino acid activation of the calcium-sensing receptor to its key cellular responses will be determined.Read moreRead less
L-amino Acid Sensing By The Extracellular Calcium-sensing Receptor: Molecular, Cellular And In Vivo Studies
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$362,545.00
Summary
Recent work by Dr Conigrave and colleagues demonstrates for the first time that protein and calcium metabolism are linked at the molecular level by the widely distributed calcium-sensing receptor. The project will aim to demonstrate the physiological significance of this finding by testing whether L-amino acids, the building blocks of body protein, exert receptor-dependent control over the secretion and blood levels of hormones that regulate body calcium levels. It will further test the hypothes ....Recent work by Dr Conigrave and colleagues demonstrates for the first time that protein and calcium metabolism are linked at the molecular level by the widely distributed calcium-sensing receptor. The project will aim to demonstrate the physiological significance of this finding by testing whether L-amino acids, the building blocks of body protein, exert receptor-dependent control over the secretion and blood levels of hormones that regulate body calcium levels. It will further test the hypothesis by determining whether amino acids exert receptor-dependent control over the proliferation of bone forming cells and urinary excretion of calcium.Read moreRead less
Assessment Of Calcium Signaling In Breast Cancer Cells Associated With Epithelial-mesenchymal Transition
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$116,762.00
Summary
This research will assess the role of specific proteins that control cell function in a process which is important in the spread of cancer cells throughout the body. The work is aimed at identifying new targets for drugs that may be used to prevent or stop the spread of breast cancer cells to other organs such as the brain and liver.
Calcium acts as a signal to control cell processes important in cancer. The entry of calcium into the cell is regulated by calcium channels and we have found some channels are over-expressed in breast cancer. Altering the expression and activity of these calcium channels is a possible therapeutic approach for cancer. We will determine the reasons and consequences of alterations of calcium channels in breast cancer and whether they are viable anti-cancer therapies and biomarkers.
Objectives: 1. Better understand the oceans off north-western Australia by measuring currents and sea surface temperatures with satellite tracked drifters. 2. Disseminate this information to the industry.