Mentor: Jean Wilson
Quote: “As we acquire more knowledge, things do not become more comprehensible, but more mysterious” – Albert Schweitzer
My name is Khameeka Kitt and I am a graduate student in Jean Wilson’s lab. My research focuses on trying to elucidate the mechanisms behind apical sorting and what sort of coat protein machinery is involved in trafficking specific macromolecules to the apical portion of an polarized epithelial cell. Studies in our lab have identified both endotubin, an early apical endosomal glycoprotein, and Rab 14, small GTPase, as part of the apical trafficking machinery and we use these proteins as markers to observe membrane trafficking. Small GTPases function as molecular switches that regulate various cellular processes, such as membrane trafficking and signal transduction. Rab proteins, a group within the superfamily of ras small GTPases, are localized to the cytoplasmic surface of distinct cellular compartments. Research has implicated the Rab proteins in contributing to cytoskeletal dynamics, fusion between transport vesicles and target membranes, and organelle structure. In addition, small GTPases work along with coat proteins for secretion and uptake of macromolecules. Coat proteins perform two functions within the cell: 1) to bring together specific membrane cargo into a specialized region of a donor organelle and 2) to mechanically deform this specialized region into a small coated vesicle for transport.
Using affinity chromatography (GST pulldown) and subcellular fractionation techniques I am looking for novel coat proteins as well as effector molecules that may be interacting with endotubin and Rab 14 in helping to establish and maintain cell polarity. In the secretory and biosynthetic pathways, coat proteins and small GTPases have been shown to be key regulators in delivering vesicles carrying specific cargo to their proper membrane compartment and mutations in any of these key molecules seems to have an gross effect on the cell. Very little is known about the mechanisms in which proteins are targeted to the apical membrane, although many studies have revealed how cells deliver, recycle, and regulate the basolateral membrane. Our current studies are trying to piece together the puzzle of how cells achieve polarity and maintain their distinctive domains.
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