The project consists of three specific aims: (1) to test the hypothesis that a caveolin-dependent complex regulates cholesterol transport between the endoplasmic reticulum and caveolae membranes; (2) to test the hypothesis that palmitoylation and protein kinase C-mediated phosphorylation of caveolin affect cholesterol binding, complex formation, and transport; and (3) to test the hypothesis that oxidized lipoproteins alter the composition of caveolae membranes by disrupting cholesterol transport mechanisms.
The aims are presented in a logical sequence and the experiments are well-planned, with attention to controls, and, when possible, multiple approaches.
| de Villiers, W J; Smart, E J (1999) Macrophage scavenger receptors and foam cell formation. J Leukoc Biol 66:740-6 |
| Uittenbogaard, A; Ying, Y; Smart, E J (1998) Characterization of a cytosolic heat-shock protein-caveolin chaperone complex. Involvement in cholesterol trafficking. J Biol Chem 273:6525-32 |
