Cell Biology of Nucleoside Transporters

我的研究项目（自1998年以来由NSERC资助）研究转运蛋白，转运蛋白是一类蛋白质，顾名思义，转运分子和化合物进出细胞或细胞内的隔室。细胞就像工厂，全年24小时运转。他们不断地接收物资，为不同的目的制造和运送不同的产品，并产生废物。就像工厂一样，细胞需要有特定的供应品运送到细胞内，以支持特定类型的工作。细胞还需要排出细胞内产生的产物，并处理废物。每个细胞周围的细胞膜是细胞内所需的许多分子的屏障。细胞膜上有入口或通道，它们位于细胞膜上，使某些分子或化合物能够进出细胞。这些转运蛋白，被称为转运蛋白，根据它们运输的特定类别或分子群或化合物，有不同的“味道”。例如，能量分子葡萄糖通过葡萄糖转运蛋白转运到细胞中。我们研究核苷转运蛋白（nt），它运输一类被称为核苷的分子。细胞需要核苷来制造DNA和其他在细胞信号传导和能量管理中很重要的细胞元素。嘌呤核苷，腺苷，也可以被nt释放到细胞外，然后与其他细胞表面的特殊腺苷受体相互作用。细胞腺苷信号在许多生理情况下都很重要，特别是在大脑和心脏，特别是在压力或低氧水平下。nt也是用于抗癌、抗病毒和抗寄生虫治疗的一大类药物的进入途径。了解nt是如何工作的以及它们是如何被调节的在临床上是很重要的。

My research program (funded by NSERC since 1998) studies transporters, which are a class of proteins, that, as their name suggests, transport molecules and compounds into and out of cells or compartments within cells. Cells are like factories that are running 24/7 all year round. They are continually receiving supplies, making and delivering different products for different purposes and producing waste. Like factories, cells need to have certain supplies shipped into the cell, to support the certain types of work. Cells also need to ship out the products that have been generated within the cell and deal with waste. The cell membrane that surrounds every cell is a barrier to many molecules that are needed inside the cell. So cell membranes contain portals or gateways that sit in the cell membrane and enable the movement of certain molecules or compounds into and/or out of the cells. These transport proteins, known as transporters, come in different "flavours" depending on the particular class or group of molecules or compounds they transport. For instance, the energy molecule glucose is transported into cells by glucose transporters. We work on nucleoside transporters (NTs), which transport a class of molecules known as nucleosides. Nucleosides are needed by cells to make DNA and other cellular elements that are important in cell signaling and energy management. The purine nucleoside, adenosine, can also be released by NTs to the outside of the cell where it then interacts with special adenosine receptors found on the surface of other cells. Cellular adenosine signaling is important in many physiological situations, especially in the brain and heart, particularly during stress or low oxygen levels. NTs are also the route of entry for a large class of drugs used in anti-cancer, anti-viral and anti-parasite treatments. Understanding how NTs work and how they are regulated is important clinically.