Work in the Nabi lab focuses on cell biology and its relation to disease, in particular cancer. The expression of cellular domains, ranging from cell polarity to organelle biogenesis to membrane microdomain organization, plays an important role in regulating cell function. Domain localization is critical to the regulation of receptor activation and our work has elaborated on the functional significance of various cellular domains in receptor function in cell motility.
Specific projects include:
• The role of autocrine motility factor receptor (AMFR, also gp78), a cancer-associated receptor and E3 ubiquitin ligase in endoplasmic reticulum associated degradation (ERAD) and ER-mitochondria interaction.
• Development of novel anti-cancer therapeutics based on the raft-dependent endocytosis of autocrine motility factor (AMF), the gp78/AMFR ligand.
• The role of plasma membrane domains and their effectors, including galectin-3 and caveolin-1, in receptor signaling and focal adhesion dynamics in metastatic cancer cells.
• Characterization of the proteome and transcriptome of tumor cell pseudopodia and the regulation of tumor cell migration and metastasis.
