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Florida Faculty and Professional Staff
Nagi G. Ayad
Assistant Professor
Department of Cancer Biology
TSRI - 2005
Education
Ph.D., Department of Cell Biology, Yale Medical School
Research Focus
The cell cycle is a fundamental network controlling an organism's growth, development, and homeostasis. An essential feature of the cell cycle is the irreversible nature of its transitions. Integral to these transitions are ubiquitin mediated proteolytic pathways that target substrates for proteasomal degradation. Proteolytic pathways contain E1, E2, and E3 enzymes that regulate both the timing and fidelity of degradation events. One of the most important E3 enzymes is a multi-subunit complex named the Anaphase Promoting Complex, or APC. The APC regulates both the metaphase to anaphase transition and mitotic exit. Intriguingly, the APC is also active during cell cycle exit and differentiation. Since the APC is such an essential component of the cell cycle, it is likely to be a major regulator of differentiation. Ongoing studies are centered on the role of the APC in neuronal differentiation. We are utilizing tissue culture cells, mouse cerebellar granule cells, and incorporating biochemical and cell based screening technologies to identify both regulators and substrates of the APC during differentiation.
Selected References
Harmey, D., Smith, A., Simanski, S., Zaki, C., and Ayad, N.G. The Anaphase Promoting Complex induces substrate degradation during neuronal differentiation. Journal of Biological Chemistry, EPub December 1, 2008.
Smith, A, Simanski, S, Fallahi, M, and Ayad, N.G. Redundant ubiquitin ligase activities regulate wee1 degradation and mitotic entry. Cell Cycle, Volume 6, 22, 2007.
Ayad, N.G. Cdks Give Cdc6 a License to Drive into S phase. Cell, Vol. 122, 1-2, 2005.
Ayad, N.G., Rankin, S., Murakami, M., Jebanathirajah, J., Gygi, S., and Kirschner, MW. Tome-1, a trigger of mitotic entry, is degraded during G1 via the APC. Cell 113: 101-11, 2003.
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