Anandita Mathur L&S Sciences
The Role of CTAGE5 in Autophagy
Autophagy is a fundamental pro-survival cellular process by which superfluous proteins and damaged organelles are delivered to the lysosome for degradation and reuse.. Numerous human disorders have been linked with dysfunction in autophagy including heart disease, cancer, and neurodegeneration. The molecular mechanisms of autophagy are currently not well understood. My project goal is to study how the autophagosome, the double membrane vesicle which contains cargo and fuses with the lysosome membrane, is generated. Based on previous studies, we hypothesize that the CTAGE5 protein plays a role in autophagosome biogenesis. I plan to generate a CTAGE5 knockout cell line in mammalian cells with the CRISPR-Cas 9 system of gene editing so that I can compare my knockout cells to the wild-type cells using various autophagy assays, immunofluorescence, and immunoprecipitation. Ultimately, I hope to uncover the interaction of CTAGE5 with autophagy-relevant proteins in order to determine its function in autophagy.
Message To Sponsor
Research in Professor Randy Schekmans lab for the past two years has been a defining part of my UC Berkeley undergraduate experience. I am very passionate about my autophagy research and truly appreciate this incredible opportunity through the SURF program and the support of the Pergo Foundation to fully devote my summer to research. I look forward to a productive summer and hope to accomplish all of my research aims!