Background
My research focuses mainly on elucidation of how gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) binds to the human GnRH receptor at the extracellular side of the cell membrane, and how the binding of GnRH analogues induces receptor conformational changes. These changes lead to association and activation of signalling molecules at the intracellular side of the cell membrane, which then trigger diverse downstream signalling cascades resulting in changes in cell function.

When activated, the human GnRH receptor is thought to couple with Gq, Gs and Gi proteins to mediate different physiological functions. I am also currently attempting to dissect these interactions at the molecular level, and to unravel the mechanisms of GnRH analogue-induced anti-proliferative effects on reproductive cancer cells.

Recent Progress
I have stably transfected a GnRH receptor construct into a cell line with no endogenous Gq expression, that facilitates my analysis of Gq-independent signalling pathways. A detailed study of the downstream signalling pathways activated by the agonist-bound receptor is currently underway.