My lab is interested in autophagy - the regulated recycling of cytoplasmic material through delivery and degradation in the lysosome. 

Please visit the Lab website https://thelanelab.blogs.bristol.ac.uk/ 

Follow Jon on Twitter @Jon_D_Lane

Autophagy (macroautophagy) is characterised by the formation of double membrane-bound organelles that sequester regions of cytoplasm including misfolded protein aggregates and organelles.The autophagosome membrane is decorated with a protein called Atg8 (commonly known as LC3), which plays roles in autophagosome assembly and cargo selection.

We use live-cell imaging as well as fixed cell microscopy (including electron microscopy) to explore how and where autophagosomes are assembled. Through the application of cell-lines expressing GFP-tagged autophagy proteins (such as Atg5; Atg14; Atg16L; DFCP1), we can determine how the sequential recruitment of autophagy factors influences autophagosome assembly.

In our studies we used various human and mouse cell culture lines, primary human erythroid precursors and induced pluripotent stem cells from human patients. The latter we differentiate into specific neuronal lineages to understand how autophagy is regulated in neurons for research into the causes of neurodegenerative diseases (Parkinson’s disease; Alzheimer’s disease).