| The current proposal aims at answering the following questions: - Do the functions of ELKS protein in cortical microtubule stabilisation and in regulating NF-kappaB depend on each other, occur independently of each other or interfere with each other?- Is there a functional interplay between NF-kappaB activation by different stimuli and microtubule organisation/dynamics?- Where (in which tissues and which cellular compartments) is ELKS protein located in the mouse? What is the dynamics of ELKS protein and how does it depend on the cytoskeleton-and NF-kappaB-related protein partners of ELKS? - What are the relevant protein partners of ELKS in vivo? What is role of ELKS in the dynamics of its direct binding partners?An additional objective of this project is the creation of the conditional ELKS knockout mouse, which will allow inactivation of ELKS in different tissues of the developing or adult animal and will make it possible to address the relative importance of different functions of ELKS (NF-kappaB regulation, microtubule stabilisation, exocytosis) in a tissue-related manner. As a first step in characterisation of this knockout mouse we propose to investigate the function of ELKS in developing T-cells, a cell type not essential for mouse survival. |
