By Merin C. MacDonald | Date Published: April 16, 2024

Egil Lien Receives R21 Funding to Study Fundamental Mechanisms Related to Cell Death  

Egil Lien, PhD, professor of medicine in the Division of Infectious Diseases and Immunology and faculty in the Program in Innate Immunity, recently received R21 funding from the National Institutes of Health to study, “Regulation of Ninj1 Oligomerization and Cell Membrane Ruptures During Cell Death.” 

Cell death pathways are critical for biological processes, including normal development, inflammation, and immune responses to infection. The final stages of cell death involve an intricately regulated process of cell membrane disruptions. Early events include membrane perforations by pore-forming proteins, such as those of the Gasdermin (GSDM) family. Later steps involve larger membrane ruptures, controlled by Ninjurin1 (Ninj1), a membrane-spanning protein.

In this project, Dr. Lien seeks to investigate fundamental mechanisms related to cell death, by addressing how Ninj1 is activated by caspase-1 and caspase-8, two enzymes involved in inflammation and cytotoxicity.