Endocannabinoid and Lipid Signalling / ECRA
Contact: Professor Tibor Harkany, Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Foresterhill, Aberdeen, AB25 2ZD, UK. Tel: +44(0)1224 555904, Fax: +44(0)1224 555915, Email: t.harkany@abdn.ac.uk
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Throughout the life-span of a cell, extracellular signals are relayed through the activation of specific signalling cascades downstream of activated receptors. The spatial and temporal coordination of the activity of complex intracellular signalling pahtways ultimately defines cellular responses when multiple signalling cues are simultaneously present, and underpins, e.g., stem cell specification, tissue-specific cell differentiation, intercellular communication, energy metabolism, and cell death. Most, if not all, diseases arise as a consequence of pathogenic changes in intracellular signalling networks.
During the past decades, ample evidence has cumulated showing that bioactive compounds enzymatically derived from lipid constituents of cells throughout the whole body, bioactive lipid mediators, form a novel and uniquely powerful class of signalling molecules that are inherent to the physiological control of e.g., organ development, synaptic signalling in the nervous system, maintenance of metabolic homeostasis, learning and memory, and contribute to the pathogenesis of osteoporosis, cancer, neuropsychiatric disorders, obesity, and drug addiction. Selective pharmacological manipulation of relevant receptor systems provides unique therapeutic avenues.
This interdisciplinary research programme represents a unique blend of cell biologists, developmental biologists, neurobiologists, physiologists, pharmacologists, musculoskeletal biologists, cancer biologists, and toxicologists, and provides an integrated platform for studying the functions of endocannabinoids, sphingolipids, and other bioactive lipid-derived mediators in diverse cellular functions in health and disease.