Description:

Dejian Ren, Ph.D.
Professor, Department of Biology
College of Arts & Sciences
University of Pennsylvania 

Abstract: Lysosomes play fundamental physiological roles ranging from material digestion and recycling to metabolism, cellular clearance and gene expression regulation. The clearance function is particular important for long-lived neurons, and lysosome malfunction is thought to be a major cause of neurodegenerative diseases. Compared to those of plasma membranes, the biophysical properties of lysosomes are poorly defined. We used patch clamp electrophysiological recording to systematically reveal lysosomal conductances and have detected lysosomal ion channels permeable to K+, Na+, H+ and Cl-. I will present results of molecular characterization of lysosomal ion channel proteins, functional studies of their regulation by extracellular nutrients and growth factors. I will aslo discuss how genetic variations in the  K+ channel TMEM175 are associated with variations in neuronal function and Parkinson’s disease.