Research Project Outline
Remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton regulates many cellular functions in the immune system. The CDM family of proteins, evolutionarily conserved guanine nucleotide exchange factors, induce cytoskeletal reorganization by functioning downstream of various receptors.In this study, we will analyze compre-hensively the structure, function and signal transduction of the CDM family proteins to identify chemical or natural compounds that inhibit effectively immune responses. This accomplish-ment will lead to the development of new therapeutics for in-tractable diseases such as autoimmune diseases and graftrejection.