Regulation of Lipid Metabolism and Vesicular Trafficking by the Oxysterol Binding Protein Kes1

Each cell is surrounded by a membrane that isolates the cell from surrounding cells and its external environment. Inside each cell are more membranes that further divide the cell into individual compartments that perform specific functions (eg. duplicating genes, making energy, or getting rid of unwanted or used up cellular garbage). Think of the cell membrane as the outside of a ball and each compartment as smaller balls inside the larger one. As a cell grows and divides to make another cell the membranes of the cell need to be synthesized and transported from their site of synthesis inside the cell to the cell surface to allow for cell growth. How cell membrane synthesis is coordinated with their transport is poorly understood. The research proposed in this grant application aims to determine what the processes that allow a cell to coordinate cell growth with the transport of cell membranes to its surface so that cell growth and membrane synthesis and transport are properly synchronized. This is basic cell biology textbook knowledge that we currently lack. This grant proposes to fill major gaps in our understanding of cell biology.