Molecular Physiology and Biophysics

Background

Research Description

The Salogiannis lab uses biochemistry, cutting-edge live cell microscopy and genetics in a variety of cell types (mammalian neurons, cancer cell lines, and the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans) to investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying microtubule-based movement in health and disease.

Intracellular cargos (organelles, vesicles, macromolecules) are driven long distances along microtubules by molecular motors (16 cargo-carrying kinesins and one cytoplasmic dynein in interphase). Microtubule-based transport influences a range of functions critical for the survival, maintenance and growth of cells. The importance of this process is emphasized in neurological diseases, where a primary hallmark is defects in microtubule-based transport and distribution of cargos.

Our lab’s goal is to understand (1) the molecular mechanisms of how, when and where these cellular cargos move on microtubules (2) how the spatiotemporal distribution of cargos affects cellular and neuronal function and (3) how microtubule-based transport goes awry in neurological diseases such as Parkinson's disease.

Highlighted Publications

Langley, A.*, S.E, Abeling-Wang*, E.W. Wagner, and J. Salogiannis. Movement of the endoplasmic reticulum is driven by multiple classes of vesicles marked by Rab-GTPases. Molecular Biology of the Cell (2024) https://doi.org/10.1091/mbc.E24-04-0197 *authors contributed equally to this work. 

Salogiannis, J.*, J.R. Christensen*, L.D. Songster, A. Aguilar-Maldonado, N. Shukla, and S.L. Reck-Peterson. PxdA interacts with the DipA phosphatase to regulate peroxisome hitchhiking on early endosomes. Mol Biol Cell (2021). 32(6): 492-503. *authors contributed equally to this work

Deniston, C.D.*, J. Salogiannis*, S. Mathea*, D.M. Snead, I. Lahiri, M. Matyszewski, O. Donosa, R. Watanabe, J. Böhning, A.K. Shiau, S. Knapp, E. Villa, S.L. Reck-Peterson, and A.E. Leschziner. Structure of LRRK2 in Parkinson’s disease and model for microtubule interaction.  Nature (2020). 588: 344-349. *authors contributed equally to this work

Salogiannis, J. and S.L. Reck-Peterson. Hitchhiking: A non-canonical mode of microtubule- based transport. Trends in Cell Biol (2017). 27(2): 141-150.

Salogiannis, J., M. J. Egan, and S.L. Reck-Peterson. Peroxisomes move by hitchhiking on early endosomes using the novel linker protein PxdA. J Cell Biol (2016). 212(3):289-296.

Complete list of J. Salogiannis publications.