Throughout the semester, I have been trying to purify the region of human plakophilin 2 (hPKP2) that binds to ɑ-T-catenin. There were many challenges, as hPKP2 has proven difficult to purify. The hPKP2 region that is thought to bind to ɑ-T-catenin has been determined to be the N-terminus, between amino acids 1-348. This was discovered…
Author: emmaporter2023
CURF #2: Living the Research Dream
I joined the Kwiatkowski lab in January 2020. I learned about his lab from my freshman year FP professor, Patrick Mullen. In a meeting with Patrick, he asked me about my interests, goals, and if I was interested in research. I told him that I wanted to do research but did not know where to…
CURF Introduction: Protein–More Than Just a Food Group!
My research focuses on a protein, plakophilin 2 (PKP2), and its role in cardiomyocytes or heart muscle cells. PKP2 is a desmosomal protein, meaning it is a protein that promotes cell-to-cell adhesion and communication between cells. When PKP2 is disrupted, it often leads to fatal consequences. The major problem scientists are faced with when it…