Periodic Reporting for period 4 - MAIN (Molecular Adhesion and Interactions in the Nervous system)
Période du rapport: 2020-09-01 au 2021-06-30
In this project we use two important protein signaling and adhesion systems, Notch and Contactin, to better understand the molecular mechanisms that underlie signaling and adhesion. The Notch and Contactin family of proteins play key roles in the development and function of several organs including our nervous system. Aberrant function of these proteins leads to the development of cancers and neurological disorders. Questions that we are addressing are: How do proteins interact in isolation and in a membrane setting? How does ligand binding induce receptor signaling? How are signaling and adhesion assemblies formed? These detailed mechanistic and structural insights will provide a molecular basis for understanding signaling and adhesion events. And ultimately these insights will help in the development of therapeutics that target diseases caused by malfunction of adhesion processes and intercellular signaling.
In addition, for the contactin adhesion system we have produced and purified extracellular segments, determined interactions between proteins and established the oligomeric state for many of the samples. Structural studies have revealed detailed insights explaining how these proteins work as adhesion systems controlling cell-cell contacts. This work has been presented at international and national conferences and has been submitted for publication.