School of Life Sciences

University of Dundee

Dr Peter Taylor

Mechanisms of amino acid transport across mammalian cell membranes
Position: 
Research Associate in Molecular Physiology
Address: 
School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee, Dundee
Full Telephone: 
+44 (0) 1382 384961, int ext 84961
Email: 

Research

My research (recently funded by The Wellcome Trust, BBSRC and Scottish Government (RESAS)) centres on the mechanisms of amino acid transport across mammalian cell membranes and their physiological functions in health and disease (including malnutrition). My principal focus is the role of the LAT1 (SLC7A5) amino acid transporter in sensing and signalling "availability" of amino acids to intracellular mechanisms (notably the mTORC1 pathway) which regulate protein synthesis, cell size and growth. We have developed a conditional knockout of LAT1 (SLC7A5) in mice to enable these studies. LAT1 also facilitates the actions of thyroid hormones (which are amino acid derivatives) by transporting them into target cells.

Publications

Liu, R., Iadevaia, V., Averous, J., Taylor, P. M., Zhang, Z. and Proud, C. G. (2014) Impairing the production of ribosomal RNA activates mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 signalling and downstream translation factors. Nucleic acids research. 42, 5083-5096
d.o.i 10.1093/nar/gku130
Pubmed: 4005692
PMC: 24526220

Nardi, F., Hoffmann, T. M., Stretton, C., Cwiklinski, E., Taylor, P. M. and Hundal, H. S. (2015) Proteasomal modulation of cellular SNAT2 (SLC38A2) abundance and function by unsaturated fatty acid availability. The Journal of biological chemistry. 290, 8173-8184
d.o.i 10.1074/jbc.M114.625137
Pubmed: 4375474
PMC: 25653282

Stretton, C., Hoffmann, T. M., Munson, M. J., Prescott, A., Taylor, P. M., Ganley, I. G. and Hundal, H. S. (2015) GSK3-mediated raptor phosphorylation supports amino-acid-dependent mTORC1-directed signalling. The Biochemical journal. 470, 207-221
d.o.i 10.1042/BJ20150404
Pubmed: 4652938
PMC: 26348909

Watson, A., Lipina, C., McArdle, H. J., Taylor, P. M. and Hundal, H. S. (2016) Iron depletion suppresses mTORC1-directed signalling in intestinal Caco-2 cells via induction of REDD1. Cellular signalling. 28, 412-424
d.o.i 10.1016/j.cellsig.2016.01.014
Pubmed: 4804389
PMC: 26827808

Taylor, P. M. (2014) Role of amino acid transporters in amino acid sensing. The American journal of clinical nutrition. 99, 223S-230S
d.o.i 10.3945/ajcn.113.070086
Pubmed: 3862456
PMC: 24284439

Poncet, N., Mitchell, F. E., Ibrahim, A. F., McGuire, V. A., English, G., Arthur, J. S., Shi, Y. B. and Taylor, P. M. (2014) The catalytic subunit of the system L1 amino acid transporter (slc7a5) facilitates nutrient signalling in mouse skeletal muscle. PloS one. 9, e89547
d.o.i 10.1371/journal.pone.0089547
Pubmed: 3935884
PMC: 24586861

Sinclair, L. V., Rolf, J., Emslie, E., Shi, Y. B., Taylor, P. M. and Cantrell, D. A. (2013) Control of amino-acid transport by antigen receptors coordinates the metabolic reprogramming essential for T cell differentiation. Nature immunology. 14, 500-508
d.o.i 10.1038/ni.2556
Pubmed: 3672957
PMC: 23525088

Baird, F. E., Bett, K. J., MacLean, C., Tee, A. R., Hundal, H. S. and Taylor, P. M. (2009) Tertiary active transport of amino acids reconstituted by coexpression of System A and L transporters in Xenopus oocytes. American journal of physiology. Endocrinology and metabolism. 297, E822-829
d.o.i 10.1152/ajpendo.00330.2009
PMC: 19622785

Hyde, R., Cwiklinski, E. L., MacAulay, K., Taylor, P. M. and Hundal, H. S. (2007) Distinct sensor pathways in the hierarchical control of SNAT2, a putative amino acid transceptor, by amino acid availability. The Journal of biological chemistry. 282, 19788-19798
d.o.i 10.1074/jbc.M611520200
Pubmed: PMC: 17488712

Cuthbertson, D., Smith, K., Babraj, J., Leese, G., Waddell, T., Atherton, P., Wackerhage, H., Taylor, P. M. and Rennie, M. J. (2005) Anabolic signaling deficits underlie amino acid resistance of wasting, aging muscle. FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 19, 422-424
d.o.i 10.1096/fj.04-2640fje
PMC: 1559648

Impact

New opportunities for nutritional therapy may lie in targeting transporters such as LAT1 so as to promote anabolic signals designed to retain lean tissue mass in ageing or regain it during rehabilitation from disease or injury. I have been invited to presented these ideas to the American Society of Nutrition:- Online here