Regulation of dynamic cell-cell adhesions by coordinated action of lipid kinases and phosphatases

Funded Activity Summary

This research project studies the molecular mechanisms that allow cells to attach to, and recognize, one another. Such cell-to-cell adhesion is mediated by the cadherin family of molecules, which reside on the surfaces of cells. Cadherins allow cells to recognize one another and, upon recognition, to adhere to each other. By this means, populations of individual cells can be linked together into cohesive populations - i.e. the tissues and organs of the body. The importance of cadherin adhesion is exemplified by the fact that disruption of cadherin adhesion contributes to many important diseases, especially inflammation and cancer. Thus understanding how cadherins hold cells together is necessary for us to understand the molecular basis of common diseases. In this project we study how cadherins signal to regulate cellular behaviour. We build on our recent discovery that E-cadherin can activate a lipid in the cell membrane, PIP3, that is known to be a key regulator of many cellular activities. We aim to understand how this signal is generated in response to E-cadherin adhesion and how it elicits normal cellular responses to cadherin adhesion.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2007

End Date: 01-01-2009

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $529,565.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Cellular Interactions (incl. Adhesion, Matrix, Cell Wall)

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

Cancer biology | Cell Adhesion | Cell Biology | Cytoskeleton | Epithelial biology | Invasion | Metastasis | Signaling pathways

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