Northwestern Chemistry welcomes Jeremy Baskin from Cornell University, hosted by Xiaoyu Zhang.
Decoding and Engineering the Chemistry of Cellular Membranes
Cellular membranes are dynamic chemical systems whose lipid composition is tightly regulated across space and time. Disruptions of lipid metabolism and membrane biology underlie a remarkable breadth of human disease, from cardiovascular and metabolic disorders to neurodegeneration and cancer. Yet the molecular mechanisms governing lipid metabolism, transport, and signaling remain incompletely understood. I will describe our eKorts in synthetic lipid biology to design chemical and optogenetic tools for discovering and manipulating membrane-associated processes in living cells. These include activity-based imaging strategies for dissecting lipid metabolism and transport, chemoproteomic strategies and photoaKinity probes for mapping protein lipidation and lipid–protein interactions, and optogenetic membrane editing technologies that enable rapid, spatially precise control of lipid composition. Using these approaches, we have identified new inter- organelle lipid transfer proteins, new regulators of oncogenic lipid signaling and energy metabolism, and noncanonical forms of protein lipidation. These discoveries have revealed new mechanisms of autophagy, redox signaling, and cytoskeletal remodeling in response to perturbations to lipid homeostasis. Together, this work illustrates how precise chemical tools can reveal fundamental cellular principles and provide a molecular basis for developing new therapeutic strategies targeting lipid-driven disease.
Anne Muller
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