Small Molecule Transport for Life
Transporting small molecules across cell membranes is an essential process in cell physiology. The uptake
of glucose and the maintenance of intracellular pH are two fundamental processes carried out by most
cells. Here, I will present our multidisciplinary approach that has revealed important insights into the
mechanism of glucose (GLUT) uptake and Na+/H+ exchange, which are important transport systems for our
cells to utilize glucose as an energy source and for the regulation cytoplasmic and organellar pH. I will also
present our recent structural insights into a sperm-specific Na+/H+ exchanger regulated by voltage –
transforming the transporter into a signaling cascade that is essential in animals (metazoa) for sperm
motility and fertilization.
Nature (2024) 626: 963-974; Nature (2023) 623:193–201; Nature (2020) 578 (7794):321-325; Nature (2015)
526(7573):397-401; Nature (2013) 501(7468):573-7.venue.
Date: 14 May 2024, 10:00
Venue: Dorothy Crowfoot Hodgkin Building, off South Parks Road OX1 3QU
Venue Details: Seminar Room 2, (20-138)
Speaker: Prof. David Drew (Stockholm University)
Organising department: Department of Biochemistry
Organiser: Prof Simon Newstead (University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: hayley.backus@bioch.ox.ac.uk
Host: Prof Simon Newstead (University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Booking email: hayley.backus@bioch.ox.ac.uk
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Hayley Backus