Regulation of Cell Fate by Heparan Sulfate Glycosaminoglycans.

The ability of cells to communicate with one another is one of the most important aspects in the development of multi-cellular organisms. The fibroblast growth factor (FGF) family of proteins and their heparan sulfate (HS) coreceptors are an important target in the study of many processes, both physiological and pathological, that involve cell-cell communication. While the involvement of HS in biological processes is unquestioned, exactly how it achieves such diverse activities is unknown. Most of the current work in the field centres around the presence or absence of specific sulfate groups in a particular “stretch” of HS. It has been known for some time that altering the sulfate content of HS can change its biological properties.
Previous work by the PI has established that specific structures within HS can regulate the receptor binding of members of the FGF family of proteins. However, little is known about whether intracellular signalling, and thus ultimate cellular outcome can be controlled by these same structures. This project will test they hypothesis that specific HS structures can regulate the intracellular signalling and cellular processes initiated by members of the FGF family of growth factors. The project will also extend to the use of synthetic and non-mammalian derived glycosaminoglycans as mimetics for HS in the FGF signalling system.

When applying online please quote the project ID- PHaB2019_02