Mark A. Stamnes, Ph.D.

Associate Professor

Faculty Member: Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center
Faculty Member: Molecular and Cellular Biology Graduate Program

University of California, San Diego, 1992

Research Interests

A central requirement for eukaryotic cell growth and function is the ability to transport and sort proteins. Defects in protein trafficking can lead to debilitating diseases such as cystic fibrosis and Alzheimer's disease. Much of protein transport in a cell occurs via coated transport vesicles. My laboratory's research interests focus on the molecular events involved in the formation of transport vesicles, the selection of cargo molecules into vesicles, and the cellular regulation of protein transport. We use the mammalian Golgi apparatus as a model system for these studies. Transport vesicles can be generated from Golgi membranes in a cell-free system, allowing a biochemical dissection of this process. A current focus of the laboratory is the mechanisms of transport vesicle interactions with molecular motor proteins and the the cytoskeleton. A longer-term goal of the laboratory is to understand how, once cellular components are properly transported and sorted, they can be assembled into complex cellular structures such as the axons and dendrites of neurons and the microvilli of epithelial cells.

Selected Publications

Chen, J.L., Fucini, R.V., Lacomis, L., Erdjument-Bromage, H., Tempst, P., and Stamnes, M. (2005) Coatomer-bound Cdc42 regulates dynein recruitment to COPI vesicles. J. Cell Biol. 169, 383-389.

Xu, W.D. and Stamnes, M. (2006) The ADFH and charged/helical domains of drebrin and mAbp1 direct membrane binding and localization via distinct interactions with actin. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 11826-11833.

Hehnly, H., Sheff, D., and Stamnes, M. (2006) Shiga toxin facilitates its retrograde transport by modifying microtubule dynamics. Mol. Biol. Cell 17, 4379-4389.