Project Details
Projekt
Clearance of protein aggregates by exophers (C10*)
Subject Area
Biochemistry
Term
from 2020 to 2023
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 189682160
This project investigates the function of a recently described quality control secretion pathway in which toxic protein aggregates and damaged organelles are released from cells in a large extracellular vesicle called exopher. The molecular mechanisms of exopher production that involve targeting, sequestration, and finally the secretion of proteotoxic substances in a plasma membrane-surrounded vesicle are unknown. We will perform a genome-wide unbiased RNAi screen in a C. elegans exopher model to elucidate the molecular players in the exopher pathway. Furthermore, we will investigate isolated exophers by biophysical and biochemical methods in order to identify a specific exopher signature. A further aim of this project is to investigate the role of molecular chaperones including the HSP70 system in the exopher targeting and sequestration process of aggregation-prone proteins.
DFG Programme
Collaborative Research Centres
Applicant Institution
Universität Konstanz
Project Heads
Dr. Karthikeyan Annamalai; Martin Gamerdinger, Ph.D.
