Areas of Interest
Endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is a key organelle for protein translation, folding and secretion. Constantly, unfolded and misfolded proteins occur that, if not being cleared in time, may potentially lead to proteotoxic effects. Protein quality control systems have been evolved to cope with the constitutive unfolded/misfolded proteins. Hrd1-Sel1L ER-associated degradation (ERAD) is one of the most conserved ER protein quality control systems across mammals. Recent work in our lab has focused on elucidating the patho-physiological significance of Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD in tissue/cell-type specific manners. I'm interested in the role of Sel1L-Hrd1 ERAD in neurons and, particularly, in hypothalamic POMC neurons.