Assistant Professor
Surgical Research
Department of Surgery
University of Chicago
5841 S. Maryland Ave. MC 5035 Chicago, IL 60637
Phone: 773-702-2500
Email:
Education:
BS, Biochemistry, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
PhD, Cell Biology, University of Groningen, The Netherlands
Post-doctoral training, UCSF, San Francisco
Our laboratory is interested in the epithelial membrane polarity. Normal
epithelial cells have two membrane domains, separated by tight junctions.
The apical domain faces the lumen and forms the barrier to the outside
of the cell. The basolateral membrane domain binds the neighboring cells
and the basement membrane, facing in this way the interior. Each of these
membrane domains has its own characteristic composition and function.
Membrane polarity is essential for the diverse functions of epithelial
cells such as forming a barrier or facilitating transport of molecules
between lumen and blood. This polarity is obtained and maintained by a
continuous, dynamic process of exo- and endocytosis of membrane vesicles.
In our laboratory we are studying the molecular mechanism of polarized
vesicular secretion in epithelial cells in normal cells and how this is
changed in response to loss of cell polarity in injured or transformed
epithelia. The fact that transformed epithelial cells are not only characterized
by uncontrolled growth but also by loss in membrane polarity, suggests
that intracellular membrane transport may be deregulated in transformed
epithelial cells.
Our research focuses on two topics. 1) We are investigating the molecular mechanism and regulation of polarized membrane trafficking in normal epithelial cells and are currently focusing on the role of SNARE proteins in this process. 2) We are investigating how loss of cell polarity in injured or transformed epithelia affects intracellular membrane trafficking and how this is regulated.
Image of MDCK cells grown in collagen. Left: control cells, right: cells expressing active H-Ras.
Mostov, K., ter Beest, M.B.A., Chapin, S.J. (1999) Catch the mu1B train to the basolateral surface. Cell 99, 121-122. (PubMed)
Zegers, M.M.P., Forget M.A., Chernoff, J, Mostov, K.E., ter Beest, M.B.A., Hansen, S.H. (2003) Pak1 and PIX regulate contact inhibition during epithelial wound healing. EMBO J., 22, 4155-4166. (PubMed)
Mostov, K., Su, T. and ter Beest M. (2003) Polarized epithelial membrane traffic: conservation and plasticity. Nature Cell Biol. 4, 287-293. (PubMed)
ter Beest, M.B.A., Chapin, S.J., Avrahami, D. and Mostov, K.E. (2005) The role of syntaxins in the specificity of vesicle targeting in polarized epithelial cells. Mol. Biol. Cell 16, 5784–5792. (PubMed)
Gassama-Diagne, A., Yu, W. ter Beest, M. Martin-Belmonte, F., Kierbel, A., Engel, J. and Mostov, K. (2006) Phosphatidylinositol-3,4,5-trisphosphate regulates the formation of the basolateral plasma membrane in epithelial cells. Nature Cell Biol. 8, 963-970. (PubMed)
Yu, C.Y., Chen, J.Y., Lin, Y.Y., Shen, K.F., Lin, W.L., Chien, C.L., Ter Beest, M.B., Jou, T.S. (2007) A bipartite signal regulates the faithful delivery of apical domain marker podocalyxin/gp135. Mol. Biol. Cell 18,1710-22. (PubMed)
ter Beest, M.B.A. (2007) The use of syntaxin chimeras to study polarized protein trafficking in epithelial cells. Methods in Molecular Biology 440, 168-183.
