Research - Dr. Kerry Hull
Dr. Kerry Hull
Department of Biology
Growth hormone stimulates growth by binding receptors, resulting in the formation of a complex that induces a response. It remains unclear if receptors can form complexes without growth hormone. Dr. Hull is investigating that question by examining complex formation by normal receptors and by mutated receptors that cannot bind growth hormone.
The objectives of the project are:
- To use Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) to quantify growth hormone receptor dimerization in the endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane in the presence and absence of growth hormone;
- To examine the possibility of growth hormone-induced conformational changes in preformed growth hormone receptor dimers using FRET and photobleaching;
- To determine the effect of mutations in the chicken growth hormone receptor that inhibit receptor binding or inhibit growth hormone action by an unknown mechanism on growth hormone receptor dimerization.
This analysis is the first to explicitly examine growth hormone receptor dimerization using FRET.
