Ion Channels, Transporters and Signalling

 

This theme is studied at many levels in DPAG, from structural studies of ion channels and transporters, to the functional roles of these molecules and signalling cascades within cells and organs, right up to their role in behaviour and human disease

KATPStructure of the tetrameric ATP-sensitive potassium (KATP) channel

Photoreceptor
The growth regulatory PTEN protein (green) is concentrated at apical junctions in photoreceptors (yellow dots at tips of red apical domains) from where it controls apical domain structure

Ion channels and transporters are a key interface between the extracellular environment and the inside of the cell, and modulation of their activity therefore plays a vital role in normal cell physiology and disease. Several groups in DPAG study these molecules, many of which are relevant to other key research areas in the department like neuroscience and cardiac science, at the structural, biochemical, cellular, systems and genetic levels. Some of the work has developed all the way from a basic science discovery to the clinic or to clinical trials. DPAG also hosts the Wellcome Trust's Ion Channels and Diseases of Excitable Cells consortium (OXION), which brings together several state-of-the-art core facilities. There is significant collective collaboration with groups outside Oxford both via OXION and at the individual group level.

 

DPAG has world-leading strengths in:

 

  • the use of light-activated ion channels to probe neuronal circuits and behaviour
  • KATP channels and their role in insulin secretion and diabetes
  • the calcium-release-activated channel iCRAC and its roles in allergy
  • ion and nutrient transporters and their functions in growth and cancer
  • metabolic signalling in the heart, growth regulation and cancer

 

Membership of This Theme:

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