This is a request for funds to obtain a fluorescence microscope that will be used primarily by two research groups. One group is investigating the mechanism by which human epithelial cells recognize and adhere to each other. The process seems to be mediated by an integral membrane protein which has been purified and against which antibodies have been produced. The second group is investigating proteins involved in the shift between aerobic and anaerobic metabolism in parasitic helminths. Mitochondrial proteins have been purified and antibodies generated here also. The antibodies in both studies will be fluorescently labelled and then used as probes to localize the proteins of interest in the cellular structures, using the requested instrumentation.
