Regulation of Organic Osmolyte Channel Activity in Fish Erythrocytes

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9974350Goldstein All cells need to maintain their volume constant in order to survive and function normally. However, changes in cell volume take place during both physiological and pathological stresses occurring in the cell's environment. Dr. Goldstein's research proposal is directed at determining the mechanisms operating in the cells' membranes to return volume back to normal following the environmental disturbances.His previous work has suggested that following changes in cell volume a specific protein in the cell membrane, named band 3, is activated to restore cell volume back to normal in red blood cells. Similar proteins are found in most cells within the body. In the current research proposal he and his colleagues will determine how band 3 operates as a volume regulatory protein and whether it operates alone or in conjunction with other proteins in the cell membrane to regulate cell volume. They will employ modern cellular physiological and molecular biological techniques to answer these critical questions.Another important question, which they will investigate in this proposal, is how changes in cell volume activate the band 3 protein in the cell membrane. They have partially identified the biochemical pathway that causes band 3 activation during our previous studies. Now, using a highly sophisticated new analytical technique, they plan to identify what part of the band 3 molecule is changed during activation and which enzymes in the cell interior effect these changes.The research described above will make a significant contribution to our understanding of how not only red blood cells but also other cells in the body, such as brain cells, cope with disturbances such as stroke in their environment. Hopefully, better therapies will be able to be developed to treat these disturbances as a result of these studies and related ones from other laboratories.