Understanding the role of lysosome biogenesis and turnover in cancer

Background and research focus

Lysosomes are acidic organelles that degrade macromolecules and have often been viewed as basic “trashcans” of cells. In recent years however, it has become clear that lysosomes function as crucial gate-keepers of cell growth and cancer. This is largely due to the surprising finding that the principal regulators of anabolic metabolism specifically locate to the lysosomal surface (1,2,3). An aberrant increase in lysosome number and abundance frequently accompanies malignant cells (4), yet it remains unclear how these changes rewire anabolic metabolism and the growth-potential of cancer cells.  

In this project, we will investigate central aspects of how changes in lysosome abundance affect tumor potential and cell growth. As a team-member, you will learn and work with biochemical techniques in cancer research and cell biology and help characterizing important molecular mechanisms that make cancer cells malignant, knowledge that hopefully can be used to combat these types of diseases in the future. Methods include: High-resolution microscopy, Cell culture, Immunocytochemistry, Western blotting, quantitative PCR 

Requirements

Basic knowledge of standard biochemical methods and sterile cell culture techniques is recommendable. 
Duration of the project: at least 6 months 

Contact details

Anders Mutvei
E-mail: anders.mutvei@igp.uu.se  
Theresa Vincent
E-mail: theresa.vincent@igp.uu.se