P Poronnik, EA Harding, R Greger, L O'Mullane, DI Cook
(collaborators: G Both, CSIRO; BJ Baum, NIH, Bethesda)
A long-term aim has been the elucidation of the intracellular mechanisms by which ion transport systems are controlled. Achieving this aim has, however, been hampered by the lack of pharmacological agents that can be used to specifically inhibit identified intracellular signalling systems. Expression of antisense constructs and dominant negative mutants by replication-deficient adenoviruses offers a potential solution to this problem. The collaboration explored the feasibility of using replication-deficient adenoviruses in this way. In 1996 a range of novel replication-deficient adenoviruses was created that express green fluorescent protein, wild-type Gaq, wild-type Gai2 and dominant negative mutants of Gaq and Gai2 and these are currently being use to dissect the intracellular signalling pathways in cultured salivary and colonic cells.