How cells send cargo to specific spots using Rabs, tethers, and SNAREs
Polarized Exocytosis: Rabs, Tethers, and SNAREs
This project studies how the cell’s delivery machinery routes packets to precise locations, which could help explain problems seen in diabetes and cancer.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Chapel Hill, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11227094 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
This project looks at the proteins and lipids that guide vesicles to specific sites on the cell surface, using yeast and cultured mammalian cells and a mouse fat (adipocyte) model. Researchers will map how the exocyst complex is switched on, how certain phosphoinositide lipids help tether vesicles, and how Sro7/tomosyn proteins act as tethers. Methods include genetics, cell biology, and structural studies to reveal molecular mechanisms of polarized exocytosis. The work is laboratory-based, using animal and cell models rather than testing treatments in people.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: This grant is basic laboratory research relevant to people with adult-onset diabetes or cancers that involve altered cell secretion pathways, so patients with those conditions might be interested in related future trials or sample donation efforts.
Not a fit: People looking for immediate changes to their medical care or new treatments will not directly benefit from this basic science project.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, the findings could identify molecular switches that become targets for future therapies to correct secretion defects in diabetes or cancer.
How similar studies have performed: Previous basic research from this lab and others has identified roles for Rabs, the exocyst, and SNAREs, but translating these molecular insights into human therapies remains early and largely untested.
Where this research is happening
Chapel Hill, United States
- Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill — Chapel Hill, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Brennwald, Patrick J — Univ of North Carolina Chapel Hill
- Study coordinator: Brennwald, Patrick J
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.