Roles for receptor activity modifying proteins with non-traditional binding partners

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The communication between the cells in the body influences how our tissues are constructed and how they function. Cells signal to each other in a variety of ways, but the vast majority of signalling involves receptors / proteins that can recognise specific hormone or growth factor signalling molecules. In recent years it has been discovered that a growing number of hormone molecules do not signal to a receptor only by switching it on or off but instead, the action of the receptor on binding its hormone is altered according to the presence of a so-called receptor activity modifying protein or RAMP. Different RAMPs can either change the presence of a receptor on the cell surface, alter the hormone that can bind to a receptor or change the consequences of hormone binding. We aim to determine the specific consequences on cell signalling induced by different combinations of receptor, hormone and RAMP and to identify novel receptors that are regulated by RAMPs. We will use a combination of techniques that are currently available in Sheffield and the results of our work will provide new insights into how hormones function in the body with implications for understanding of health and disease.