Alecia K. Gross, PhD
Assistant Professor, Dept. of Vision Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Research: “Rhodopsin Trafficking in Transgenic Tadpoles”
Research
The research interests of the Gross Lab are mainly focused on rhodopsin-mediated retinal degenerations and molecular mechanisms of photoreceptor membrane biogenesis; in particular, the molecular interactions necessary for formation of healthy photoreceptor disk membranes. Studies are currently focused on understanding those interactions that are defective when rhodopsin lacks the proper structure at its carboxy-terminus, as is the case in several of most forms of the blinding disease autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa. Knock-in mice bearing rhodopsin carboxy-terminal mutations will be used and new ones constructed to aid in the detection of binding partners to the C-terminus of rhodopsin implicated in rhodopsin trafficking.
Publications
Gross AK, Decker G, Chan F, Sandoval IM, Wilson JH, Wensel TG. Defective development of photoreceptor membranes in a mouse model of recessive retinal degeneration. Vision Research. 2006 Dec;46(27):4510-8.
Wensel TG, Gross AK, Chan F, Kyle K, Wilson J. Rhodopsin-EGFP Knock-ins for Imaging Quantal Gene Alterations. Vision Research. 2005 Dec;45(28):3445-53. Madabushi S, Gross AK, Philippi A, Meng EC, Wensel TG, Lichtarge O. Evolutionary trace of G protein-coupled receptors reveals clusters of residues that determine global and class-specific functions. The Journal of Biological Chemistry. 2004 Feb 27 279(9):8126-32.
Gross AK, Rao VR, Oprian DD. Characterization of rhodopsin congenital night blindness mutant T94I. Biochemistry. 2003 Feb 25;42(7):2009-15. Gross AK, Xie G, Oprian DD. Slow binding of retinal to rhodopsin mutants G90D and T94D. Biochemistry. 2003 Feb 25;42(7):2002-8.
Xie G, Gross AK, Oprian DD. An opsin mutant with increased thermal stability. Biochemistry. 2003 Feb 25;42(7):1995-2001.
