Regulation of a nucleoside transport protein, ENT1

我的研究项目是研究转运蛋白，转运蛋白是一类蛋白质，顾名思义，转运分子和化合物。细胞是动态的，就像工厂一样，它们需要运送一定的物资来支持正在进行的工作。他们还需要运出细胞内产生的产物或废物。包围细胞的细胞膜是许多分子的屏障，这些分子在细胞内或需要离开细胞。细胞膜上有入口或通道它们位于细胞膜上允许某些分子或化合物进出细胞。这些入口或通道被称为转运蛋白，我们研究其中一组，被称为核苷转运蛋白，因为它们运输被称为核苷的分子。核苷对细胞很重要，因为它们是制造DNA和其他细胞元素所必需的。一些核苷也被细胞释放，并通过与邻近细胞上的受体相互作用作为局部信号。核苷只能通过核苷转运体进出细胞。核苷转运体大约在十年前才在分子水平上被发现（克隆），所以我们仍然不太了解它们的样子（就它们的三维结构而言）或它们是如何工作的。我们也不知道它们在细胞内的生命周期是什么样的，也不知道它们是如何受到其他蛋白质的调节的。我们使用各种生化和分子技术来研究这些蛋白质的结构和功能的不同方面，以便我们能够更好地了解它们发挥的作用，以及它们如何促进繁忙细胞的健康日常生活。

My research program studies transporters, which are a class of proteins, that, as their name suggests, transport molecules and compounds. Cells are dynamic and, like factories, they need to have certain supplies shipped in to support the work going on. They also need to ship out the products that have been generated within the cell or waste products. The cell membrane that surrounds the cell is a barrier to many molecules that are needed in cells or that need to get out of cells. So cell membranes contain portals or gateways that sit in the cell membrane and allow the movement of certain molecules or compounds into and/or out of cells. These portals or gateways are known as transporters and we work on one group of them, known as nucleoside transporters, because they transport molecules known as nucleosides. Nucleosides are important to cells because they are needed for making DNA and other cellular elements. Some nucleosides are also released by cells and act as local signals by interacting with receptors on neighboring cells. Nucleosides can only get in and out of cells through nucleoside transporters. Nucleoside transporters were only identified at the molecular level (cloned) about a decade ago so we still don't know much about what they look like (in terms of their three-dimensional structure) or how they work. We also don't know what their life cycle within the cell looks like or how they are regulated by other proteins. We use a variety of biochemical and molecular techniques to study different aspects of the structure and function of these proteins so that we can better understand what role they play, and how they contribute to the healthy everyday lives of busy cells.