# Fundamental mechanisms of apoptosis and phospholipid asymmetry

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO · 2020 · $20,989

## Abstract

Project summary
Programmed cell death, phospholipid asymmetry, and paternal mitochondrial elimination are three vitally
important, distinct, and interconnected biological processes essential for normal cell functions and animal
development. Defects in these processes can cause various pathological conditions and human disease,
including neurodegenerative disease, autoimmune disorders, various inherited human mitochondrial disease,
and cancer. In this proposed work, we will carry out molecular genetic, reverse genetic, biochemical, cell
biological, biophysical, and functional genomic analyses to decipher basic mechanisms of apoptosis,
phospholipid asymmetry, and paternal mitochondrial elimination during animal development. For the study of
apoptosis, we hope to understand the regulatory mechanisms and signaling pathways that control the release
of mitochondrial apoptogenic factors during apoptosis and identify new targets and downstream pathways of
the cell death protease that execute highly organized cell disassembly and rapid removal of the dying cells. For
the study of phospholipid asymmetry, we plan to identify the molecular components and regulatory
machineries that generate, maintain, and alter phospholipid asymmetry, decipher the functions and roles of
specific phospholipids to a cell, and reveal the physiological and pathological consequences of altered
phospholipid asymmetry to the cell and the animal. For the study of paternal mitochondrial elimination, we will
investigate how and why paternal mitochondria are selectively recognized and targeted for elimination, the
paternal and maternal factors and machineries required of this uniparental inheritance process, and the
physiological significance of paternal mitochondrial elimination to embryo development and organismal fitness.
These studies should reveal novel mechanisms, pathways, and genes that control these three fundamental
biological processes, and ultimately, provide new targets, ideas, and strategies to facilitate treatment of
numerous human diseases caused by abnormalities in these three important processes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10084175
- **Project number:** 3R35GM118188-04S2
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF COLORADO
- **Principal Investigator:** DING XUE
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $20,989
- **Award type:** 3
- **Project period:** 2016-06-01 → 2021-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10084175

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10084175, Fundamental mechanisms of apoptosis and phospholipid asymmetry (3R35GM118188-04S2). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10084175. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*