Regulation of Rho-GTPase pathways by the adaptor protein, Dok-4

上皮细胞排列在肺、肠和肾等身体器官的重要结构的壁上。我们的实验室研究上皮细胞是如何工作的，特别是肾脏。作为对损伤的反应，肾脏自然产生的生长因子帮助受损的上皮细胞再生，部分原因是促进了细胞分裂的能力，并增加了取代死亡细胞的数量。然而，这些新再生的细胞需要通过称为分化的过程重新获得复杂的结构，以恢复其正常功能。我们认为，一种名为DOK-4的分子将有助于平衡细胞结构的各种调节因素，从而有助于上皮细胞的分化。在这项研究中，我们将研究DOK-4是如何在上皮细胞恢复的特定阶段启动的，并在关闭一个调节蛋白的同时打开另一个相反功能的调节蛋白。我们预计DOK-4将作为一个关键的分子开关，引导细胞在损伤后完全恢复功能。

Epithelial cells are lining the walls of important structures in body organs such as lungs, intestines and the kidney. Our laboratory studies how the epithelial cells work, specifically focusing on the kidney. In response to injury, growth factors produced naturally in the kidney help the damaged epithelial cells to regenerate, in part by promoting the capacity of cells to divide and increase in numbers to replace dead cells. However, these newly regenerated cells need to regain sophisticated structure by the process called differentiation in order to restore their normal functions. We propose that a molecule called Dok-4 will help balance various regulators of the cell structure thereby contributing to the differentiation of epithelial cells. In this study, we will examine how Dok-4 is turned on at a certain stage of epithelial cell recovery and switches off one regulatory protein while switches on another regulatory protein of an opposing function. We expect that Dok-4 will act as a critical molecular switch which will direct the cells toward full recovery of function after an injury.