Exploring the liquid-liquid phase separation and membrane interaction of human Golgi Reassembly and Stacking proteins

• Grant number: 24/05793-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Doctorate
• Start date: September 01, 2024
• End date: August 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biophysics - Molecular Biophysics
• Principal Investigator: Antonio José da Costa Filho
• Grantee: Emanuel Kava
• Supervisor: Tuomas Knowles
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Institution abroad: University of Cambridge, England
• Associated to the scholarship: 21/10795-7 - Lipidations and their effects on the Golgi Reassembly and Stacking Proteins (GRASPs), BP.DR

Abstract

Intercellular communication, facilitated by the conventional secretory pathway, has played apivotal role in the evolution of life's diversity and complexity. This pathway, involving the secretion of proteins containing signal peptides, has long been understood, although recentdiscoveries have challenged the idea of a single secretory route. Unconventional protein secretion(UPS) has emerged as an alternative pathway for secreting proteins lacking signal sequences,contributing to cellular adaptation to stress. The Golgi Reassembly and Stacking Proteins (GRASPs) have been identified as essential factors involved in UPS. GRASPs are peripheral membrane proteins, first reported as stacking factors of the Golgi apparatus and whose role in UPS has been more recently recognized. This grant proposal focuses on elucidating two interconnected aspects of human GRASPs with potential implications in UPS: their interaction with membranes and supramolecular arrangements. To address this problem, this project proposes an innovative approach using microfluidics combined with microscopy techniques, which have been developed and are available at the host institution.