.

Dr RICHARD M. EPAND

                        Professor, Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences,

                                                  McMaster University

                                                      Hamilton, ON, Canada

 
 
A.B. (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
 
Ph.D. (Columbia University, N.Y)
 
Postdoctoral Fellow (Cornell University, N.Y.)
 
Visiting Scientist: Yale University, CT and Campomar Research Institute
 
1999 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
 
                                  Fellow of the Biophysical Society
 
 
                                              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  proteins
in  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. 2012. Decoding the functional role of cationic side chains of the major

antimicrobial region of hyman cathelicidin LL-37. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 56(2):845-856.

 

AC Brown, K. Boesce-Battaglia, Y. Du, FP Stefano, IR Kieba, RF Epand, L Kabalis, PL Yeagle, RM Epand, ET Lally (2012).

Aggregatibacter Actinomicetemcomitans leukotoxin cytotoxicity occurs through bilayer destabilization. Cell Microbiol., in press.

 

K. D’Souza and RM Epand. 2012. Catalytic activity and acyl-chain selectivity of diacylglycerol kinase-e are modulated by residues in

and near the lipoxygenase-like motif. J. Mol. Biol. 416(5):619-628.

 

RM Epand. 2012. Recognition of polyunsaturated acyl chains by enzymes acting on membrane lipids. B.B.A. Biomembranes, 1818(4):957-962.

 

RM Epand. 2012. Further insights into the properties of the HIV-gp41 fusion domain: commentary on the article by AL Lai et al, J.

Mol. Biol., in press.

 

M. de la Vega, M Marin, N Kondo, K Miyauchi, Y Kim, RF Epand, RM Epand GB Melikian. 2011. Inhibition of HIV-1 endocytosis

Allows lipid mixing in the plasma membrane, but not complete fusion. Retrobiology 8:99.

 

YV Shulga, MK Topham and RM Epand. 2011. Substrate specificity of diacylglycerol kinase-e and the phosphoinositol cycle. FEBS

Letters, 585(24):4025-4028.

 

S. Aoki and RM Epand. 2012. Caviolin-1 hydrophobic segment peptides insertion into membrane mimetic systems. Role of Proline residue.

B.B.A. Biomembranes, 1818(1):12-18.

 

YV Shulga, MK Topham and RM Epand. 2011. Substrate specificity of diacylglycerol kinase-e and the phosphoinositol cycle. FEBS

Letters, 585(24):4025-4028.

 

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. 

 

 

 
 
 

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LINK to:

  Biophysical Society

CSBMCB

American Peptide Society

Protein Society

ASBMB

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