Cells have receptors on their surface which act like antennas, receiving signals from the outside world. When a receptor binds to an external signal molecule, it triggers a cascade of chemical reactions inside the cell that eventually reach the nucleus, the cell's control centre. Here, instructions are received and processed to generate a cellular response, such as to replicate or move elsewhere. Until recently, it was believed that this ‘long-range’ communication from the cell surface to the nucleus was the only way cells respond to an external stimulus. However, alternative communication routes are now being discovered, revealing the existence of a much more complex and sophisticated communication network inside the cell that involves many different cellular components or organelles working together to generate appropriate biological responses.
Research by our group has revealed that a particular group of receptors, known as growth factor receptors, can communicate directly with certain organelles in the cell. Growth factors are messengers that cells use to communicate with each other. They are important for coordinating the activities of cells in our bodies, playing a crucial role in processes like growth, development, and wound healing. When a growth factor binds to its receptor, it can induce a multitude of cellular responses, including:
• growth and division to produce more cells,
• differentiation, where cells become more specialized for a specific function,
• migration to a different location,
• metabolic changes affecting how cells utilize energy and nutrients,
How a cell interprets the signal from the growth factor and chooses the appropriate cellular response for a given circumstance is still unclear. Our hypothesis is that activated receptors can utilize different communication routes inside the cell, leading to various cellular responses.
The aim of this project is to explore the organelle communication network used by a particular growth factor receptor and understand precisely how this communication occurs, by trying to answer the following questions:
• How are signals passed from one organelle to another to produce a specific cellular response?
• Which proteins mediate the physical interaction between organelles?
• How do these interactions influence the cell’s behaviour?
The results of this research will not only increase our understanding of how cells respond to their environment, but can also give clues to how this process can go wrong in disease. The dysregulation of growth factor signalling is a common feature of diseases such as cancer or developmental disorders. The characterization of the different communications routes used by growth factor receptors could lead to the development of new therapies that can interfere with these routes and block the unwanted cellular response.
