Regulation Of The Tumour Suppressors APC And BRCA1 By Nuclear Export
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$530,874.00
Summary
Cancer cells lack the ability to control their own growth, and thus continously divide in their local environment, leading to tumour formation. Tumour suppressor proteins, like APC and BRCA1, normally function as regulators to help cells respond to outside signals and to stop growing when necessary. The inactivation and altered cellular localisation of tumour suppressor proteins can contribute to cancer development. We have found that the APC and BRCA1 proteins, whose inactivation leads to devel ....Cancer cells lack the ability to control their own growth, and thus continously divide in their local environment, leading to tumour formation. Tumour suppressor proteins, like APC and BRCA1, normally function as regulators to help cells respond to outside signals and to stop growing when necessary. The inactivation and altered cellular localisation of tumour suppressor proteins can contribute to cancer development. We have found that the APC and BRCA1 proteins, whose inactivation leads to development of colon cancer and breast cancer, respectively, contain signals that dictate their movement within the cell. Our novel preliminary findings reveal that APC and BRCA1 are able to move in and out of the cell nucleus. We aim to define how this occurs, and examine how the regulation of their cellular location affects the normal function of these cancer-suppressing proteins. Finally, abnormalities in the nuclear passage of APC or BRCA1 might explain their altered cellular location in cancer cells.Read moreRead less
QacA-mediated Multidrug Resistance And Export In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$497,250.00
Summary
Strains of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) which are resistant to almost all available anti-staphylococcal agents are responsible for serious infections among hospitalised patients; in some hospitals such outbreaks reach epidemic proportions. In these bacteria, resistance has emerged to all classes of antimicrobial agents, including antibiotics and antiseptics-disinfectants commonly used in the hospital environment, largely due to the acquisition of resistance deter ....Strains of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) which are resistant to almost all available anti-staphylococcal agents are responsible for serious infections among hospitalised patients; in some hospitals such outbreaks reach epidemic proportions. In these bacteria, resistance has emerged to all classes of antimicrobial agents, including antibiotics and antiseptics-disinfectants commonly used in the hospital environment, largely due to the acquisition of resistance determinants. These determinants encode for proteins which provide the bacterial cell with a range of different biochemical mechanisms to evade antibiotic chemotherapy. Specifically, this project seeks to increase our understanding of proteins which confer resistance by pumping a variety of structurally-dissimilar antimicrobials out of the bacterial cell. Proteins which recognise such a broad spectrum of compounds are called multidrug resistance proteins and present a disturbing clinical threat since the acquisition of one such system by a cell may simultaneously decrease its susceptibility to a number of antimicrobials. Similar multidrug pumps are widespread in nature and are credited for resistance to antibiotics and other chemotherapeutic drugs in many pathogenic organisms, such as the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, and in human cancer cells. In this project, we aim to characterise the QacA multidrug resistance protein which is involved in pumping many different antimicrobial compounds from staphylococcal cells. We will identify the regions of the QacA multidrug resistance protein which bind the compounds and examine how the protein expels them to give resistance. These studies are a prerequisite for the design of more effective antibacterial compounds able to bypass or block these drug resistance pumps, and will also provide fundamental knowledge applicable to the problem of multidrug resistance in other infectious diseases and cancer.Read moreRead less
QacA-mediated Multidrug Resistance And Export In Staphylococcus Aureus
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$437,545.00
Summary
Strains of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) which are resistant to almost all available anti-staphylococcal agents are responsible for serious infections among hospitalised patients; in some hospitals such outbreaks reach epidemic proportions. In these bacteria, resistance has emerged to all classes of antimicrobial agents, including antibiotics and antiseptics-disinfectants commonly used in the hospital environment, largely due to the acquisition of resistance deter ....Strains of the pathogenic bacterium Staphylococcus aureus (Golden Staph) which are resistant to almost all available anti-staphylococcal agents are responsible for serious infections among hospitalised patients; in some hospitals such outbreaks reach epidemic proportions. In these bacteria, resistance has emerged to all classes of antimicrobial agents, including antibiotics and antiseptics-disinfectants commonly used in the hospital environment, largely due to the acquisition of resistance determinants. These determinants encode for proteins which provide the bacterial cell with a range of different biochemical mechanisms to evade antibiotic chemotherapy. Specifically, this project seeks to increase our understanding of proteins which confer resistance by pumping a variety of structurally-dissimilar antimicrobials out of the bacterial cell. Proteins which recognise such a broad spectrum of compounds are called multidrug resistance proteins and present a disturbing clinical threat since the acquisition of one such system by a cell may simultaneously decrease its susceptibility to a number of antimicrobials. Similar multidrug pumps are widespread in nature and are credited for resistance to antibiotics and other chemotherapeutic drugs in many pathogenic organisms, such as the bacteria responsible for tuberculosis, and in human cancer cells. In this project, we aim to characterise the QacA multidrug resistance protein which is involved in pumping many different antimicrobial compounds from staphylococcal cells. We will identify the regions of the QacA multidrug resistance protein which bind the compounds and examine how the protein expels them to give resistance. These studies are a prerequisite for the design of more effective antibacterial compounds able to bypass these drug resistance pumps, and will also provide fundamental knowledge applicable to the problem of multidrug resistance in other infectious diseases and cancer.Read moreRead less