Lipids are essential cellular components involved in energy storage, membrane organization, cell signalling and the regulation of protein function. Proteins can be post-translationally modified through the covalent attachment of lipids, which confer hydrophobic character, promote membrane association and can modulate protein–protein interactions.
The most common lipidations include S-prenylation of cysteines, myristoylation of glycines, S-acylation and the incorporation of GPI units. Other relevant modifications are the cholesterylation of Hedgehog proteins and the conjugation of phosphatidylethanolamine to GABARAP and LC3.
This project will study lipidated proteins by identifying and quantifying the lipids attached to them and developing chemical synthesis or semisynthesis methods, with the aim of gaining a better understanding of their function.