Grant: CIHR Fellowship

The object of our study is to examine the control of the activity of the Na+/H+ exchanger protein, that removes acid from inside of all cells. Handling acid is a problem in all organisms. Cells use food such as glucose and fat, to produce energy for their function. When this occurs, they produce waste products, and one of these is acid. Too much acid is bad for cells and inhibits their metabolism. If acid builds up, and this causes an inhibition a variety of cellular functions. We are studying the mechanism that deals with acid removal from inside cells and how it is regulated. There is a protein called the sodium proton exchanger (Na+/H+ exchanger) and its function is to remove the excess acid from inside the cells of the heart and take it out of the cells. In so doing, this protein brings in excess sodium. The protein is regulated in many ways, one of these is by binding of other proteins to it. We have good preliminary evidence that a protein called B-Raf binds to the Na+/H+ exchanger. This protein is involved in many types of cancer. We will try and understand how it regulates the Na+/H+ exchanger, which also has important roles in cancer. We hope the results will result in a better understanding of carcinogenesis and possibly in new ways to attack this problem.