Recent research in the Wente laboratory has focused on using yeast and vertebrate model systems to further understand the mechanism of nucleocytoplasmic communication.  Nuclear trafficking is essential to proper cell growth and responses to extracellular signals during cell cycle and developmental switches.

Trainees in Dr. Wente’s laboratory have made recent breakthroughs in the understanding the mechanisms of assembly, translocation through, and regulation of nuclear pore complexes (NPCs). NPCs embedded in the nuclear envelope provide the only sites for nuclear entry and exit of macromolecules. Her laboratory has made insights into the basis of transport factor interactions with the NPC proteins, and revealed information about protein import/export pathways and steps in the mRNA export mechanism.  Lab members have also discovered a nuclear inositol polyphosphate pathway that is required for efficient mRNA export in both yeast and vertebrate cells. This signaling pathway represents a new frontier for regulating gene expression and cell physiology.

Recent collaborative work with trainees in  the Bruce Appel laboratory has revealed a role for this inositol signaling pathway in zebrafish early development. The researchers have linked proper inositide production to the establishment of left-right asymmetry and modulation of intracellular calcium fluxes during embryogenesis. This research program illustrates how research on basic aspects of cell biology impact the understanding of developmental biology, and the synergy that can result from studying multiple developmental model systems.

For more information about Dr. Wente visit her Vanderbilt Faculty Page or her Lab Website

NEWEST PUBLICATIONS

The karyopherin Kap95 regulates nuclear pore complex assembly into intact nuclear envelopes in vivo.  2007 Molecular Biology of the Cell 18:886-898

Transitional b cell fate is associated with developmental stage-specific regulation of diacylglycerol and calcium signaling upon b cell receptor engagement.  2006 Journal of Immunology 177:5405-5413

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