Grant: Operating Grant

The outside of each of our cells is made of a membrane, whose role is to hold in the cell contents and to regulate the normal composition of our cells by moving waste out of the cell and required raw materials into the cell. Membrane proteins carry out the tasks of moving substances in and out of the cell to regulate life. In our red blood cells, half of the cell's surface is occupied by a membrane protein called AE1. The abundance of the protein reflects the key roles of the protein, aiding in the cell's ability to carry carbon dioxide waste, and controlling the cell's skeleton, to maintain the cell's rigidity as the red cell moves throughout our blood system. Our goal is to understand how AE1 caries out its critical functions. This will provide information relevant to 1. stability of red blood cells in blood banks, 2. the infection of red cells by malarial parasites and 3.The basis for some blood group antigens.