Abstract
Biological membranes have evolved mechanisms for organization of ion transporters and other membrane-spanning proteins into functional microdomains, even though their phospholipid bilayers are fluid with a viscosity of a light olive oil. These membrane domains are responsible for much of vertebrate physiology and are of considerable clinical importance. The seminar will discuss the discovery of ankyrin adaptors and their functions in coordinating diverse membrane-spanning proteins and coupling these proteins to a spectrin lattice on the cytoplasmic surface of the plasma membrane. Ankyrin/spectrin-based domains include excitable membranes in the nervous system and heart, lateral membranes of epithelial cells, inner and outer segments of photoreceptors, and costameres of striated muscle. A simple mechanism for facile acquisition of ankyrin-binding activity will be presented that can explain the diverse nature and recent evolution of ankyrin-binding partners. New data will also be presented showing that ankyrin is not just a static scaffolding protein but exhibits dynamic interactions with its partners, interacts with the membrane through palmitoylation, and participates as an adaptor for the dynactin complex to promote directed intracellular transport of membrane proteins.
About the speaker
Prof Vann Bennett received his PhD from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1975. He conducted postdoctoral training at the Biological Laboratories of Harvard University from 1976 to 1977. He was staff scientist of Molecular Biology at Wellcome Research Laboratories from 1977 to 1981. He was Professor of Cell Biology and Anatomy at the Johns Hopkins University from 1981 to 1987. He joined Duke University since then, and had been Professor of Biochemistry, Cell Biology and Neurobiology. He was James B. Duke Professor from 2002 to 2013 and the vice-chair of Cell Biology from 2003 to 2013. He is currently George Barth Geller Professor.
Prof Bennett’s research interests include how membrane-spanning proteins are localized to cellular sites that optimize their physiological efficiency, with a focus on vertebrate adaptations. He explores the cellular mechanisms underlying newly discovered ankyrin-dependent pathways responsible for localization of a variety of membrane transporters and cell adhesion molecules to specialized membrane domains. He also studies the physiological consequences, including human diseases such as cardiac arrhythmia, that result from failure of ankyrin-based membrane organization.
Prof Bennett received numerous awards including the Merit Award and the Research Career Development Award from the US National Institutes of Health. He is a Member of the US National Academy of Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the Association of American Physicians.
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