Structural studies on SNARE proteins involved in insulin action

Funding Activity

Website
http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/102467

Funding Status
Closed

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Funded Activity Summary

Diabetes mellitus, a disease characterised by high blood glucose levels, is caused by a relative or absolute deficiency in the activity of insulin. The blood-glucose lowering action of insulin is a result of its ability to stimulate glucose uptake by fat and muscle cells. A major goal of Professor James' laboratory is to identify molecules that are involved in this insulin-regulated uptake of glucose. Professor James has identified and characterised the glucose transporter, GLUT4, a protein that is normally stored inside muscle and fat cells. In response to insulin stimulation, GLUT4 moves to the cell surface where it functions to transport glucose into the cell. Over the past 5 years Professor James laboratory has, in conjunction with other groups, discovered several key proteins that are involved in the insulin-regulated movement of GLUT4 within the cell. We plan to exploit the therapeutic potential of this biological system by obtaining high resolution three dimensional structures of these key proteins. The resulting structural information will allow us to develop compounds that modify the function of these key proteins. Such compounds could prove useful as novel therapeutic agents in the treatment of diabetes. The purpose of this proposal is to begin to implement this goal. By combining the knowledge and reagents coming out of the work on insulin-regulated glucose transport in Professor James' laboratory with the molecular and structural biology expertise in Dr Martin's, Dr Halliday's and Prof Craik's laboratories we are in a unique position to achieve this highly significant goal.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2001

End Date: 01-01-2002

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $308,263.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Protein Targeting And Signal Transduction

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

There are no SEO codes available for this funding activity

Other Keywords

SNARE proteins | diabetes mellitus | heterologous expression | hyperglycaemia | insulin resistance | protein structure | protein trafficking | vesicle transport

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