Pulling together the threads of life

Research into the understanding of how eukaryotic cells establish their distinct morphology and organisation in order to carry out their specialised functions is being carried out as part of The Open University’s Affiliated Research Centre (ARC) Programme.

The research is being carried by OU PhD student, Praveen Suraneni, within a group of researchers based at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research in the USA.

The goal of the research group is to understand how eukaryotic cells establish their distinct morphology and organisation in order to carry out their specialised functions. There are two main areas to Praveen’s research:

Firstly, the control of actin dynamics during cell polarization and motility. Actin is a structural protein found in many eukaryotic cells. It is the monomeric subunit of microfilaments, one of the three major components of the cytoskeleton.The actin cytoskeleton plays major roles in physiological processes such as cell polarisation and cell motility. These functions are closely related to actin’s dynamic properties. The work has been focused on the nucleation step of actin filament assembly. Arpc3, a component of the Arp2/3 complex, plays a critical role in actin nucleation to generate Y-shaped branches from existing actin filaments. It remains unclear whether the Arp2/3 complex is important for all forms of actin driven motility or some specialised forms of cell motility. We are currently working on understanding the in vivo function and regulation of these proteins using mouse model, and also the structural basis for these actin assembly factors using cryo electron microscopy.

A second area of research is asymmetric cell division which can be studied using mouse oocytes. Mouse oocytes undergo polarisation during maturation, during which the centrally located spindle moves to a subcortical region where a cortical actin cap that contains myosin-II assembles. This asymmetric localisation of the spindle and formation of the actin cap are critical for the extrusion of the polar body. Recent work has revealed that the cortical actomyosin structure can be induced by microinjected DNA-coated beads through a small GTPase Ran dependent manner, but the downstream events leading to actin nucleation remains largely unknown. We are using a biochemical approach aiming to reconstitute this novel actin assembly pathway, taking advantage of a recent finding in starfish oocytes, which demonstrate a potentially similar chromatin-mediated actin assembly activity.

After obtaining a Bachelors degree in Pharmaceutical Sciences, Praveen Suranemi pursued a Master's degree in Biotechnology and Pharmacology at Sheffield Hallam University. There, Praveen developed an interest in pursuing a career in Biological Science. After successful completion of his Master’s degree, he moved to the United States to work in Dr Sherman Weissman’s Laboratory at Yale University, where he obtained his training in Biological Research. Later, he worked at the Boston Biomedical Research Institute. From there, in 2005, Praveen joined Dr Rong Li’s group at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. He registered with The Open University in 2007 to study for an Open University PhD in collaboration with the Institute, where he is still based.

Housed in a 600,000 square-foot state-of-the-art facility on a 10-acre campus in the heart of Kansas City, Missouri, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research conducts basic research on fundamental processes of cellular life. Through its commitment to collaborative research and the use of cutting-edge technology, the Institute seeks more effective means of preventing and curing disease. The Institute was founded by Jim and Virginia Stowers, two cancer survivors who have created combined endowments of $2 billion in support of basic research of the highest quality.

The Open University’s Affiliated Research Centre (ARC) programme is designed to ensure that we support the provision of doctoral training in the UK, Europe and worldwide. Through collaborative relationships with research institutions who do not have their own degree awarding powers we have created a network of partner organisations with interests which complement and extend our own strengths in life and biomolecular sciences, Earth and environmental sciences, and in some arts and humanities disciplines. Our partner institutions include: Architectural Association School of Architecture; HR Wallingford; KEMRI - Wellcome Trust Research Programme, Kenya; International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Italy; Medical Research Laboratories, The Gambia; Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Stowers Institute for Medical Research, USA. For more information see: http://www.open.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/affiliated-research-centre-programme/index.php