The major research interest in my group is the regulation of the assembly and secretion of the plasma lipoproteins.
Lipids have many important physiological roles.
They are hormones, essential components of membranes, the main energy store of the body and play central roles in cell signalling and communication. An imbalance in the production and removal of the plasma lipoproteins from the blood leads to an increase in the levels of undesirable lipoprotein classed and ultimately to atherosclerosis, coronary heart disease and stroke. An understanding of the mechanisms involved in regulating secretion of plasma lipoproteins is thus of considerable clinical importance and will lead to rational drug design based on the molecular events. Our aim is to determine the intracellular events and molecular mechanisms involved in regulating plasma lipoprotein assembling in enterocytes and hepatocytes. Our experimental approach is to prepare isolated cells, and follow the transit of newly synthesised lipoprotein proteins and lipids through the secretory pathway using a combination of specific inhibitors of cell processes and subcellular fraction.