Pannexin 1 (Panx1) is a metabolite channel enriched in the brain and known to localize to the cell surface, where it is involved in a variety of neuronal processes including cell proliferation and differentiation. The mechanisms through which Panx1 is trafficked or stabilized at the surface, however, are not fully understood. The proximal Panx1 C-terminus (Panx1CT), upstream of a caspase-cleavage site has been demonstrated to be required for Panx1 cell-surface expression. We discovered a previously unreported putative leucine-rich repeat (LRR) motif within the proximal Panx1CT. I investigated the involvement of this putative LRR motif on Panx1 localization and oligomerization. Deletion of the putative LRR motif or uniquely the highly conserved segment of the putative LRR motif resulted in a significant loss of Panx1 cell surface expression. Finally, ectopic expression of Panx1-EGFP in HEK293T cells increased cell proliferation, which was not recapitulated by a Panx1 deletion mutant lacking the putative LRR motif. Overall the findings presented in this thesis provide new insights into the molecular determinants of Panx1 trafficking and oligomerization. / Graduate / 2020-02-14
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:uvic.ca/oai:dspace.library.uvic.ca:1828/10748 |
| Date | 24 April 2019 |
| Creators | Epp, Anna |
| Contributors | Swayne, Leigh Anne |
| Source Sets | University of Victoria |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | Available to the World Wide Web |
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