Targeting membrane proteins in their native environments - Mass spectrometry meets cell biology

Embedded in the membrane of a cell, or circulating in the blood stream, are thousands of different lipids involved in a wide range of biological processes. These lipids interact with proteins to both regulate and control their structure, function and location. How these control mechanisms change during health and disease progression is difficult to ascertain. We will develop mass spectrometry methods to study critical drug targets that are influenced by their membrane environments. These targets include receptors involved in vision, transporters implicated in cancer and mitochondrial diseases as well as those involved in cellular entry and destruction of viral particles. The expected outcomes will include a new way to study the impact of drugs in vision, a greater understanding of transporters involved in cancer, new knowledge of lysosomal and mitochondrial disorders as well as a deeper understanding of additional factors involved in COVID-19 coronavirus propagation and entry.