Molecular Neurobiology

Contact Information
Phone: (818) 895-9443
Fax: (818) 895-9554
Email: [email protected]

Location Address
Sepulveda VA Medical Center
16111 Plummer Street
North Hill, CA 91343

Research Areas

Phosphoprotein and G Protein Interactions in Vision and Blindness

Description

Dr. Lee’s research goal is to understand the biochemical mechanisms that carry out and regulate normal photoreceptor activities and cause photoreceptor cell death in animals and humans affected by retinal degeneration. Currently, she is investigating phosducin, an important regulator of the photoreceptor G protein, by studying how light and pathological conditions change the phosphorylation of phosducin (a reversible chemical reaction that adds/removes phosphate to a protein) and how phosphorylation affects phosducin's interaction with the G protein and other photoreceptor proteins.

Representative Publications

Chen F, Ng P-N, Faull KF, Lee RH. Cone photoreceptor beta, gamma-transduction: Post-translational modification and interaction with phosducin. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Res 2003;44:4622-9.

Marguli A, Dang L, Pulukuri S, Lee R, Sitaramayya A. Presence of phosducin in the nuclei of bovine reitnal cells. Mol Vis 2001;8:477-82.

Chen F, Lee RH. Phosducin and bg-transduction interaction I: Effects of post-translational modifications. Biochem Biophys Res Comm 1997;233:370-4.

Lee RH, Ting TD, Lieberman BS, Tobias DT, Lolley RN, Ho Y-K. Phosducin and transduction interactions: Down regulation by phosducin or retinal cGMP cascade in reconstituted rod outer segments. J Biol Chem 1993; 267:25104-12.

Lee RH, Lieberman BS, Yamane HK, Bok D, Fung BB-K. A third form of the G protein b subunit: Immunochemical identification and localization to core photoreceptors. J Biol Chem 1993;267:24776-81.

Grants

Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Research Service: Phosphoprotein and G Protein Interactions in Vision and Blindness, 10/1/01-9/30/05