# Functional characterization of lysosome membrane and its protein quality control system

> **NIH NIH R35** · UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR · 2024 · $384,822

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The lysosome is an important organelle responsible for digesting and recycling materials, nutrient sensing, and
controlling cell proliferation. It is also linked to neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's,
Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases. Despite its importance, the regulation of lysosomal membrane protein
composition and the function of its transporters and ion channels are not well understood. My lab has made
significant progress in studying the turnover mechanisms of lysosomal membrane proteins by identifying a
conserved ubiquitin- and ESCRT-dependent pathway for protein degradation. However, several key questions
remain, including the identification of substrates of lysosomal E3 ligases in humans (future direction 1), the
assembly of the ESCRT machinery to the lysosome membrane for internalizing ubiquitinated cargoes (future
direction 2), and identifying other proteins involved in the quality control process. Additionally, there is a lack
of understanding of the substrates, direction of transport, and energy dependence of many lysosomal
transporters and ion channels (future direction 3). My lab has developed a reconstitution platform to study
lysosomal membrane transport proteins, which will be combined with conventional methods such as
metabolomics of isolated lysosomes to better understand these processes.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10841304
- **Project number:** 1R35GM153356-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN AT ANN ARBOR
- **Principal Investigator:** Ming Li
- **Activity code:** R35 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $384,822
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-09-01 → 2029-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10841304

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10841304, Functional characterization of lysosome membrane and its protein quality control system (1R35GM153356-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10841304. Licensed CC0.

---

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