.
Dr RICHARD M. EPAND
Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences,
McMaster University
Hamilton, ON, Canada
A.B. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MDPh.D. (Columbia University, N.Y) Postdoctoral Fellow (Cornell University, N.Y.)Visiting Scientist: Yale University, CT and Campomar Research Institute1999 Avanti Award in Lipid from the Biophysical Society, given to an investigator known for seminal studies in lipid metabolism, lipid enzymology or membranes.Senior Investigator Award of the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (2003)Fellow of the Biophysical Society (2003)
epand@mcmaster.ca
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN MEMBRANE PROPERTIES AND BIOLOGICAL FUNCTION
Our laboratory is interested in the structure and properties of biological membranes. Many cell processes are intimately linked to membranes. These include most signal transduction phenomena, the entry of viruses into target cells, as well as the action of many drugs and cytotoxic agents. We are involved in several studies elucidating the molecular properties of membranes. These include the mechanism of viral fusion and the function of viral fusion proteins; the distribution of cholesterol in membranes and the role of proteinsin sequestering cholesterol-rich domains; the role of lipids in signal transduction; the mechanism of action of antimicrobial peptides and the phenomenon of membrane lysis by different agents leading to cell death. In all of these areas, there is a focus in understanding the relationship between membrane molecular properties and the essential functions of the cell. RECENT
PUBLICATIONS
G. Wang, RF Epand, VC
Thomas, K. Bayles and RM Epand. 2011. Decoding the functional role of cationic
side chains of the major
antimicrobial region of hyman
cathelicidin LL-37. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, in press.
YV Shulga, MK Topham and
RM Epand. 2011. Substrate specificity of diacylglycerol kinase-e and the phosphoinositol
cycle. FEBS
Letters, in press.
S. Aoki and RM Epand.
2011. Caviolin-1 hydrophobic segment peptides insertion into membrane mimetic
systems. Role of Proline residue.
B.B.A. Biomembranes,
1818(1):12-18.
RM Epand. 2011.
Recognition of polyunsaturated acyl chains by enzymes acting on membrane
lipids. B.B.A. Biomembranes, in press.
D.
Bach, R.F. Epand, R.M. Epand, Miller IR and E. Wachtel. 2011. The oxysterol
3-b-5-oxo-5,6 secocholestan-6-al changes the phase
behaviour
and structure of
phosphatidylethanolamine-phosphocholine mixtures. Chem. Phys Lipids,
164(7):672-679.
YV Shulga, MK Topham
and RM Epand. 2011. Regulation and functions of diacyglycerol kinases. Chem.
Rev. 111(10):6186-6208.
MH Norholm, YV Shulga,
S. Aoki, RM Epand and G. von Heijne. 2011. Flanking residues help determine if
a hydrophobic segment adopts a monotopic or bitotic topology in the ER
membrane. J. Biol Chem., 286(28):25284-25290.
H. Sarig, D. Ohana, RF
Epand, A. Mor and RM Epand. 2011. Functional studies of cochleate assemblies of
an oligo-acyl-lysyl with lipid mixtures for combating multidrug resistance.
FASEB J., 25(10):3336-3343.
RF Epand, A. Mor and RM
Epand. 2011. Lipid complexes with cationic peptides and OAKs: their role in
antimicrobial action and in the delivery of antimicrobial agents. Cell. Mol.
Life Sci., 68(13):2177-2188.
YV Shulga, MK Topham and
RM Epand. 2011. Study of arachidonoyl specificity in two enzymes of the PI
cycle. J. Mol. Biol. 409(2):109-112.
L. Guo, Z Chen. BE Cox,
V. Anamath, RF Epand, RM Epand and S. Davies. 2011.Phosphatidylethanolamines
modified by gamma-ketoaldehydes
induce endoplasmic
reticulum stress and endothelial activation. J. Biol. Chem.
288(20):18170-18180.
RF Epand, H. Sarig, D.
Ohana, B. Papahadjopoulos-Sternberg, A. Mor and RM Epand. 2011. Physical
Properties affecting cochleate formation
and morphology using
antimicrobial oligo-acyl-lysil peptide mimetics and mixtures mimicking the
composition of bacterial membranes in the absence
of divalent cations. J.
Phys. Chem B, 115(10):2287-2293.
CS Kim, RF Epand, E.
Leukina, RM Epand and LV Chernomordik. 2011. The final conformation of the
ectodomain of the HA2 subunit of influenza
hemagglutinin can by
itself drive low pH-dependent fusion. J. Biol. Chem. 286(15):13228-13234.
S. Chaiwatpongsakom, RF
Epand, PL Collins, RM Epand and ME Peebles. 2011 Soluble respiratory synsytial
virus fusion protein in the fully
cleaved pre-triggered
state, is triggered by exposure to low molarity buffer. J. Virol,
85(8):3968-3977.
A. Gantayet, J.
Jegatheswaran, G. Jayakumaran, MK Topham and RM Epand. 2011. Endocannabinoids
and diacylglycerol kinase activity.
BBA 1808(4):1050-1053.
RF Epand and RM Epand.
2011. Bacterial membrane lipids and the action of antimicrobial agents. J.
Peptide Science 17(5):298-305.
SP Handattu, G. Datta, RM Epand, RF Epand, MN Palgunachari, VK Mishra, CE Monroe, TD Keenum, M Chadda, GM Anatharamiah
and DW Garber. 2010. Oral administration of L-mR18L, a single domain cationic amphipathic helical peptide, inhibits lesion formation of ApoE null mice.
J. Lipid Research, 51(12):3491-3499.
MR St Vincent, CC.
Colpitts, AV Ustinov, M. Mukadas, MA Joyce, NL Barsby, RF Epand, RM Epand, SA
Kramyshev, OA Valueva, VA Korshun,
DL Tyrrell and LM Schang. 2010. Rigid amphipathic fusion inhibitors, small
molecule antiviral compounds against enveloped viruses.
PNAS USA, 107(40):17339-17440.
L Livne, RF Epand, B.
Papahadjopoulos-Sternberg, RM Epand and A. Mor. 2010. OAK-based cochleates as a
novel approach to overcome multidrug resistance in bacteria. FASEB J.,
24(12):5092-5101.
RF Epand, JE Pollard, J
Wright, PB Savage and RM Epand. 2010. Depolarization, bacterial membrane
composition and the
antimicrobial action of
ceragenins. AAC, 54(9):3708-3713.
S. Aoki, A. Thomas, M. Decaffmeyer, R.
Brasseur and RM Epand. 2010. The role of proline in the membrane reentrant
helix of caveolin. J. Biol. Chem., 285(43):33371-33380.
RF Epand, WL Malloy, A
Ramamoorthy and RM Epand. 2010. Amphipathic helical cationic antimicrobial
peptides
promote rapid formation
of crystalline states in the presence of phosphatidylglycerol: Lipid clustering
in purely
anionic membranes.
Biophysical J, 98(11):2564-2573.
RF Epand, WL Malloy, A
Ramamoorthy and RM Epand. 2010. Probing the “charge cluster mechanism” in
amphipathic
helical cationic
antimicrobial peptides. Biochemistry, 49(19):4076-4084.
RM Epand, A Thomas, R
Brasseur and RF Epand. 2010. Cholesterol interaction with proteins that
partition into membrane
domains: an overview.
Subcell Biochem. 51:253-278.
RM Epand, RF Epand, C
Arnousch, B Papahadjopoulos-Sternberg, G Wang and Y Shai. 2010. Lipid
clustering by
three homologous
arginine-rich antimicrobial peptides is insensitive to amino acid arrangement
and induced structure.
BBA Biomembranes, 1798(6):1272-1280.
J. Oeopoulos, RF Epand,
RM Epand and C Yip. 2010. Peptide-induced domain formation in supported lipid
bilayers;
Direct evidence by
combined atomic force and polarized total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy.
Biophysical J.
98(5):815-823.
R Ma,
RF Epand and I Zhitomirsky. 2010. Electrodeposition of hyaluronic acid and
hyaluronic acid-bovine serum
albumin from aqueous
solutions. Colloids Surf. B. Biointerfaces, 77(2):279-285.
K. Sackett, MJ
Nethercott, RF Epand, RM Epand, DR Kindra, Y Shai and DP Weliki. 2010.
Comparative analysis
of membrane-associated
fusion peptide secondary structure and lipid mixing function of HIV gp41
constructs that model
the early pre-hairpin
intermediate and final-hairpin conformations. J. Mol. Biol. 397(1):301-315.
YV
Shulga, DS Myers, PT Ivanova, SB Milne, HA Brown, MK Topham and RM Epand.
2010. Molecular species of phosphatidylinositol-cycle intermediates in the
endoplasmic reticulum and plasma membrane. Biochemistry 49(2):312-317.
L
Livne, T Kovachi, H Sarig, RF Epand, F Zarkoon, RM Epand and A. Mor. 2009.
Design and characterization of a
broad-spectrum bactericidal acyl-lysine oligomer.
Chem. Biol. 16(12):1250-1258.
RM
Epand, RF Epand, B. Berno, L. Pelosi and G. Brandolin. 2009. Association of
phosphatidic acid with the bovine
mitochondrial ADP/ATP
carrier. Biochemistry 48(51):12358-12364.
RF Epand, H Sarig, A Mor
and RM Epand. 2009. Cell-wall interactions and the selective
bacteriostatic activity of a
miniature oligo-acyl-lysyl. Biophys
J. 97(8):2250-2257.
M Lung, Shulga YV, Ivanova
PT, Myers DS, Milne SB, Brown HA, Topham MK, Epand RM. 2009. Diacylglycerol
kinase epsilon is selective for both acyl chains of phosphatidic acid or diacylglycerol. J. Biol. Chem 45:31062-31073.
RF
Epand, G Wang, B Berno, RM Epand. 2009. Lipid Segregation Explains
Selective Toxicity of a Series of Fragments
Derived from the Human Cathelicidin LL-37. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 53(9):3705-14.
U Schlattner, M Tokarska-Schlattner, S Ramirez, A Brückner, L Kay, C Polge, RF Epand, RM Lee, ML`Lacombe,
and RM Epand. 2009. Mitochondrial kinases and their molecular interaction with cardiolipin. Biochim. Biophys. Acta,
1788(10):2032-47.
MK Topham and RM Epand. 2009. Mammalian diacylglycerol kinases: Molecular interactions and biological functions of
selected isoforms. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1790(6):416-424.
M.L.
Lacombe, M. Tokarska-Schlattner, R.F. Epand, M. Boissan, R.M. Epand, U.
Schlattner. 2009. Interaction of NDPK-D with cardiolipin-containing membranes:
Structural basis and implications for mitochondrial physiology. Biochimie,
91(6):779-83.
N.
Lev, Y. Fridmann Sirkis, L. Blank, A. Bitler, R.F. Epand, R.M. Epand and Y
Shai. 2009. The conformational stability and
membrane
interaction of the full-length ectodomain of HIV-1 gp41: implication for mode
of action. Biochemistry,
48(14):3166-75.
R.M.
Epand and R.F. Epand. 2009. Lipid domains in bacterial membranes and the
action of antimicrobial agents.
Biochim Biophys Acta, 1788(1):289-94.
LINK to:
Societe de Biophysique du Canada