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Faculty
Arturo DeLozanne
Associate Professor in Molecular Cell & Developmental Biology

Email: a.delozanne@utexas.edu
Website
Main Office: PAT 241
Phone: 232-6100

Alternate Office: PAT 235
Alt. Phone: 471-0862

Mailing Address
The University of Texas at Austin
1 University Station C0930
2415 Speedway
Austin ,TX 78712-1095
Arturo DeLozanne

Research Summary

We are interested in defining the molecular basis of the lysosomal disorder known as the Chediak-Higashi Syndrome. This disease is caused by mutations in a very large gene and result in the loss of a large protein known as Lyst. The size and low abundance of this protein have impaired the detailed analysis of its function and how its absence leads to the dysfunction of lysosomes in CHS patients. We have established a simple model system to study the molecular function of Lyst and closely related proteins in the organism Dictyostelium discoideum. We have shown that the loss of a similar protein in this organism results in the same lysosomal defect. We are currently using the wide array of molecular tools available in this model system to dissect the function of Lyst-related proteins. We hope to use this as a starting point to understand better the human disease and design potential therapies. We are also interested in understanding how eukaryotic cells accomplish the last stage of the cell cycle: cytokinesis. We have identified several proteins important for cytokinesis and have generated knockout mutants lacking these proteins. We then analyze the phenotype of these mutants using a variety of cell biological techniques including imaging of GFP-labeled proteins. One of these proteins called LvsA plays a role in membrane traffic, while another called INCENP binds to chromosomes and microtubules. The analysis of proteins like these will help delineate the molecular mechanisms involved in cell division.