The Sontag Lab
Neurodegenerative diseases (such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and Huntington’s diseases), cancer, and even aging are all linked to protein misfolding. We study how the cell responds to misfolding proteins, so that we can learn what goes wrong during disease.
Research
We are currently focused on studying neurodegenerative diseases. A common aspect of these disorders is misfolded proteins accumulating into large deposits within the brain. These deposits are formed when misfolded proteins are sequestered into membrane-less organelles or compartments.
The function of these compartments is unknown, but an intriguing hypothesis is that they prevent aberrant protein interactions and facilitate clearance of protein aggregates by alternative pathways when the protein clearance machinery cannot keep up with the misfolded protein load. Misfolded protein sequestration into distinct compartments is conserved from yeast to mammals, indicating this mechanism of protein quality control is of critical importance for cell health and survival. We are currently utilizing yeast as a model system to understand the basic cell biology of protein quality control.
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