Renigunta Lab
We are interested in studying the function and the regulation of volatge-gated potassium channels in different cell types and trying to identify pathophysiologically relevant alterations in ion channel activity. Many inherited diseases are caused by loss-of-function mutations of ion channels (channelopathies). Many of these loss-of-function mutations impair the trafficking of the channels to the surface membrane. Our aim is to clarify the mechanisms underlying the assembly and the trafficking of the voltage-gated potassium channels, and our aim to investigate the following steps in detail:
1, The molecular mechanisms of assembly in the endoplasmic reticulum; in particular, we are looking for signal sequences in the cytosolic tails of the channel proteins that govern homomeric or heteromeric assembly immediately after (or coincident with) translation.
2, The mechanisms governing the export of the channel proteins from the ER at specialised ER export sites; in particular, we are interested in identifying novel forward trafficking signals and retention signals and their interaction with accessory proteins.
Subcellular localisation of voltage-gated potassium (Kv) channels in HeLa cells
We use a variety of different techniques to study PPIs:
Membrane Yeast Two-Hybrid analysis (mY2H): We employ split-ubiquitin approach based on the detection of the in vivo processing of a reconstituted split ubiquitin to detect membrane-protein interactions in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
Co-immunoprecipitation (Co-IP) : We use Co-ip to identify physiologically relevant protein–protein interactions by employing target protein-specific antibodies to capture intact protein complexes.
Affinity-Purification mass spectrometry: Requires an affinity tagged bait (FLAG, Myc, GFP, HA etc.).
Proximity ligation assay (PLA): We employ PLA assay to detect protein-protein interactions (at distances < 40 nm) using specific antibodies identifying (either directly or indirectly) the two proteins of interest.
CRISPR/Cas9 mediated gene editing: We use state-of-the-art CRISPR/Cas9 editing method to generate knock-in or knock-out cell lines to study protein interactions in detail.
Interested in joining our team?
Please send your CV/Resume to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
