Anna Akhmanova

Anna Akhmanova

Anna Sergeevna Akhmanova (born 11 May 1967) is a Russian-born professor of Cell Biology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.[1][2] She is best known for her research regarding microtubules and their plus-end stabilizing proteins, or TIPs.

Career

Anna Akhmanova was born in Moscow, Russia to a family of scientists. From an early age she was interested in nature so going into biological research was an easy decision. She attended Moscow State University where she studied biology in a five-year program to receive her masters. During this program she studied basic biology along with cell biology and biochemistry. For her fifth year research project, she studied halophilic archaebacteria with Alexander Mankin who cultivated her knowledge of molecular biology.[3]

After graduating from Moscow State, Akhmanova left Russia to study abroad in 1989. During this time, perestroika was occurring in Russia which negatively affected the university and research programs there. Because of this, Akhmanova decided to take the opportunity to go to the Netherlands with her young daughter to obtain her PhD. While at the University of Nijmegen, she worked in a lab under Wolfgang Hennig trying to obtain mutants of histone genes.[3] She finally received her PhD in 1997 from the University of Nijmegen.[4]

She completed two postdoctoral projects, the first of which was at the University of Nijmegen where she worked with anaerobic organisms for the Department of Microbiology. Her second postdoc was done at the Erasmus University of Rotterdam. She worked in the Department of Cell Biology headed by Frank Grosveld in order to work with gene regulation and transcription. She worked in Niels Galjart’s lab with a certain transcription factor, and was asked by Casper Hoogenraad to assist on another project with CLIP-115, a microtubule-binding protein. Two clones that this lab found were the CLASP and Bicaudal-D proteins which became the basis for her successful career.[3]

In 2011, Akhmanova and Hoogenraad moved their research to the Utrecht University and together were running the Division of Cell Biology.[3] She is currently still a cell biology professor at Utrecht University where she continues to do research on cell transportation.[5]

Research Overview

Akhmanova and her team study the cytoskeleton of the cell and its effect on the polarization of the cell, human diseases, and vertebrate development. Their main focus is on the microtubules that work within the cytoskeleton, which are essential for many processes, especially cell division. Because of this, their research is important for battling abnormal cell proliferation such as cancer, neurodegeneration and the spread of pathogens throughout the cell.[6]

In order to study these microscopic structures, the team uses high resolution images of the cells they are studying, along with quantitative analysis, utilizing specific microscopic assays to measure the protein dynamics, in vitro reconstitution of the cytoskeleton processes, and using various methods to identify the interactions of different proteins.[6]

The specific proteins that the team studies are those that interact on the plus and minus ends of the microtubules. More specifically they research the plus end tracking protein (+TIPs) which associate with the plus end of the microtubule to regulate the dynamics of the microtubule and how they interact with other structures in the cell. More recently, they have started researching “the biochemical properties and functional roles of the proteins” which organize minus end tracking proteins (-TIPs).4 There is far less information about –TIPs and they are still not fully understood; however, recent research on CAMSAP, a type of –TIP, has shown that it plays an important role for organizing and stabilizing microtubules during interphase. Akhmanova’s group now focus on finding how CAMSAP contributes to the organization and stabilization of non-centrosomal microtubules during cell division.[6]

Another project the team is researching is the mechanisms involved in microtubule-based vesicle transport. They identified several structures that linked the microtubule motors to vesicles and developed procedures to show the function of the linkers when gathering motor proteins to associate with membrane organelles. Kinesin and dynein motors are required for long-range transport along microtubules within the cell. Akhmanova’s team focuses mainly on dynein, the motor that moves toward the minus end of the microtubule, and how it is linked to the various organelles and vesicles it transfers. They also study how dynein coordinates with kinesin, the motor that moves toward the plus end of the microtubule, when they are attached to the same organelle or vesicle, and they study the different signaling pathways that affect these motors. More specifically, they are currently looking into the protein Bicaudal D and its role in dynein-dependent transport, as it has been found to be important for dynein-dependent transport of mRNA in flies and of exocytotic vesicles in mammals. It has also been found to be important for the positioning of the centrosomes and nucleus during mitosis as this is facilitated by dynein and kinesin.[6]

Lastly, Akhmanova and her team are using constitutive exocytosis as a model system for their study of kinesin and dynein. Exocytotic carriers move from the Golgi to the plasma membrane along microtubules. The team has found that the same cortical complexes are used to attach the microtubule to the plasma membrane as are used to attach them to vesicles. From here, the team plans to study how the cortical complexes are made and regulated, how they affect the attachments and dynamics of microtubules, and what the mechanism is that allows them to fuse vesicles. Also, they would like to find more information on the NF-kB signaling pathway as it was found to have proteins, called ELKS, which are found in the cortical complex. They plan to research how its components interact, and how it affects microtubule stabilization and vesicle fusion.[6]

Awards and honors

Akhmanova has received several awards including the ALW Vernieuwingsimpuls VIDI award in 2001 and the VICI award. She also received an ERC synergy grant in 2013. She is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is the chair of the board for the Netherlands Society for Microscopy. She is also on the editorial board for various publications such as Elife, Journal of Cell Science, BMC Cell Biology, The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Traffic, and BioArchitecture.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Academy selects sixteen new members". Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  2. ↑ "Anna Akhmanova" (in Dutch). Kennisbits.nl. Retrieved 2 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Sedwick, Caitlin (2011-10-17). "Anna Akhmanova: Great tips on microtubules". J Cell Biol. 195 (2): 168–169. doi:10.1083/jcb.1952pi. ISSN 0021-9525. PMC 3198163Freely accessible. PMID 22006946.
  4. ↑ "Anna Akhmanova - Cellular Dynamics - Institute of Biodynamics and Biocomplexity". Institute of Biodynamics and Biocomplexity. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  5. ↑ "Anna Akhmanova". Utrecht University. 2014-12-01. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Anna Akhmanova: Cellular Dynamics - Cell Biology Utrecht University". Cell Biology. Retrieved 2016-11-27.

External links

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