Molecular Characterisation of Metal Transport Proteins

微量金属是生命所必需的。它们的催化和结构作用的秘密正受到严密的审查。调控生物细胞中营养金属浓度的分子机制仍然知之甚少。金属代谢的错误导致疾病。例如，铜代谢缺陷导致人类Menkes和Wilson病，铜和锌与阿尔茨海默病和疯牛病等神经退行性疾病有关。该项目将研究负责向生物细胞输入营养铜和其他金属的代谢途径的化学性质。

The trace metals are essential to life. The secrets of their catalytic and structural roles are under intensive scrutiny. The molecular mechanisms which regulate concentrations of nutrient metals in biological cells remain poorly understood. Errors in metal metabolism cause disease. For example, defects in copper metabolism cause Menkes and Wilson diseases in humans and there are connections of copper and zinc to neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer and Creutzfeldt-Jakob (mad cow). This project will study the chemistry of metabolic pathways responsible for import of nutrient copper and other metals into biological cells.