MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology
One of the world's leading research institutes, our scientists are working to advance understanding of biological processes at the molecular level - providing the knowledge needed to solve key problems in human health.
Cerebral organoids, also sometimes called mini-brains or brain organoids, have become an important and useful tool in understanding human brain development and disease. They have the potential to model brain functions, such as information transfer between neurons, but restrictions in their growth have so far limited this. Now, Madeline Lancaster’s group in the LMB’s Cell Biology Division, have for the first time demonstrated that cerebral organoids can direct muscle movement.
AMPA receptors are among the most commonly found receptor in the nervous system and play an important role during memory formation and learning. They are composed of four subunits with various possible combinations. Although AMPA receptors act predominantly as heteromeric complexes, structural studies to date have focused on assemblies made from four copies of the same subunit.
Most historical research on immunity has focused on the dedicated cells of our immune system, but, ever since the first single-celled organisms evolved, cells have had to defend themselves against infection. Thus we have a more ancient form of cellular immunity, termed xenophagy, that allows cells throughout our body to capture bacteria that have invaded their cytosol and degrade those invaders inside specialised vesicles termed autophagosomes.
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers in the UK. Virtually all colorectal cancers are initiated by hyperactive signalling through the Wnt/β-catenin pathway. This can occur due to activating mutations in the protein β-catenin or inactivation of Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC), a protein that normally drives degradation of β-catenin.
Dyneins are a family of motor proteins that run along the microtubule tracks that make up the cytoskeleton. They drive beating of cilia/flagellar and transport of cargos, contributing to processes such as clearing mucus, allowing sperm to swim, positioning organelles and clearing up misfolded proteins. All members of the family move along microtubules in the same direction, but it was not known why this is the case.
Apoptosis is a highly controlled form of cell death important for cell turnover during life, in embryonic development, including separation of fingers and toes, and as a cellular response against cancer. Although mitochondria are more widely known for their role as the energy-generating “powerhouses” of the cell, they also have an important role in initiating apoptosis: rupture of the mitochondria releases factors that contribute to an accelerating cascade towards cell death.