Broer Group - Membrane transport and nutrition

Nutrients are essential for the growth and maintenance of cells and organisms. Membrane transporters are essential to deliver nutrients to cells and tissues and thus play a significant role in the regulation of metabolism. We study the role of amino acid transport in the onset of insulin resistance and the regulation of carbohydrate metabolism. Amino acid transport is crucial for growing cells and thus is a target to curtail cancer growth. We are investigating in how far amino acid transport in cancer cells is different from normal cells. In addition to amino acid transport we investigate the role of phospholipid transport in cell development and signalling in the immune system.

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Selected publications

  • Bröer S, Gauthier-Coles G. Amino Acid Homeostasis in Mammalian Cells with a Focus on Amino Acid Transport. J Nutr. 2022 Jan 11;152(1):16-28. doi:
    10.1093/jn/nxab342. PMID: 34718668; PMCID: PMC8754572.

    Gauthier-Coles G, Vennitti J, Zhang Z, Comb WC, Xing S, Javed K, Bröer A, Bröer S. Quantitative modelling of amino acid transport and homeostasis in
    mammalian cells. Nat Commun. 2021 Sep 6;12(1):5282. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-25563-x. PMID: 34489418; PMCID: PMC8421413.

    Fairweather SJ, Okada S, Gauthier-Coles G, Javed K, Bröer A, Bröer S. A GC-MS/Single-Cell Method to Evaluate Membrane Transporter Substrate Specificity and
    Signaling. Front Mol Biosci. 2021 Apr 13;8:646574. doi:10.3389/fmolb.2021.646574. PMID: 33928121; PMCID: PMC8076599.

  • Bröer A, Rahimi F, Bröer S. Deletion of Amino Acid Transporter ASCT2 (SLC1A5) Reveals an Essential Role for Transporters SNAT1 (SLC38A1) and SNAT2 (SLC38A2) to Sustain Glutaminolysis in Cancer Cells. J Biol Chem. 2016 Apr 26.
  • Jiang Y, Rose AJ, Sijmonsma TP, Bröer A, Pfenninger A, Herzig S, Schmoll D, Bröer S. Mice lacking neutral amino acid transporter B(0)AT1 (Slc6a19) have elevated levels of FGF21 and GLP-1 and improved glycaemic control. Mol Metab. 2015; 4(5):406-17.
  • Tumer, E., Broer, A., Balkrishna, S., Julich, T. and Broer, S. (2013) Enterocyte-specific regulation of the apical nutrient transporter SLC6A19 (B(0)AT1) by transcriptional and epigenetic networks. The Journal of biological chemistry. 288, 33813-33823
  • Yabas, M., Teh, C. E., Frankenreiter, S., Lal, D., Roots, C. M., Whittle, B., Andrews, D. T., Zhang, Y., Teoh, N. C., Sprent, J., Tze, L. E., Kucharska, E. M., Kofler, J., Farell, G. C., Broer, S., Goodnow, C. C. and Enders, A. (2011) ATP11C is critical for the internalization of phosphatidylserine and differentiation of B lymphocytes. Nat Immunol. 12, 441-449
  • Broer, S. and Palacin, M. (2011) The role of amino acid transporters in inherited and acquired diseases. Biochem J. 436, 193-211
  • Kowalczuk, S., Broer, A., Tietze, N., Vanslambrouck, J. M., Rasko, J. E. and Broer, S. (2008) A protein complex in the brush-border membrane explains a Hartnup disorder allele. Faseb J. 22, 2880-2887
  • Seow, H. F., Broer, S., Broer, A., Bailey, C. G., Potter, S. J., Cavanaugh, J. A. and Rasko, J. E. (2004) Hartnup disorder is caused by mutations in the gene encoding the neutral amino acid transporter SLC6A19. Nat Genet. 36, 1003-1007
  • Broer, A., Klingel, K., Kowalczuk, S., Rasko, J. E., Cavanaugh, J. and Broer, S. (2004) Molecular Cloning of Mouse Amino Acid Transport System B0, a Neutral Amino Acid Transporter Related to Hartnup Disorder. J Biol Chem. 279, 24467-24476.

All publications

Carbohydrates and healthy eating

Story | Monday 29 April 2013

Do steaks make you big?

Story | Thursday 16 June 2011
Adjusting the intake of high protein foods like meat, eggs and milk products could determine whether you become a rugby player or marathon runner and may help you lose weight, according to new research published this month in the Journal of Biological Chemistry.

Kidney function discovery sheds light on genetic complexity

Story | Thursday 6 November 2008
To find a cure for cancer, haemophilia and other diseases, researchers need to be looking for complex, interacting genetic factors, according to the authors of a new study.

BSB PhD Exit Seminar: Expression studies and pharmacology of neutral amino acid transporter B0AT1 (SLC6A19) - A potential target to treat metabolic diseases

Event | Thu 2 June 2022
B0AT1 (Slc6a19) is a sodium-dependent neutral amino acid transporter catalyzing the secondary active transport of neutral amino acids across the brush border membrane of the kidney and intestine.

BSB PhD Exit Seminar: A study of cellular amino acid homeostasis identifies novel combination therapies for cancer

Event | Thu 2 December 2021
Scientific and technological advancements in the field of cell physiology over the last thirty years have uncovered the identities and functions of over sixty solute carriers which participate in the transport of amino acids in mammalian cells.
CryoEM process graphic

MicroED for Biological Samples: Requirements, Sample Preparation and Data Processing

Event | Thu 8 October 2020
Seminar by Mathieu Coincon, Senior Researcher – MicroED specialist Swedish CryoEM Facility, Stockholm

The role of nutrient balance in lifespan extension by dietary restriction in Drosophila

Event | Thu 24 September 2020
The role of nutrient balance in lifespan extension by dietary restriction in Drosophila, Matthew Piper, School of Biological Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia

Forward genetic screening identifies a link between Plasmodium falciparum fever response, artemisinin resistance and the algal origins of the apicoplast

Event | Mon 2 March 2020
The emergence and spread of Plasmodium falciparum parasites that are resistant to front-line antimalarial artemisinin-combination therapies (ACT) threatens to erase the considerable gains against the disease of the last decade. We developed a new large-scale phenotypic screening pipeline and used it to carry out the fi
PhD student, Javed Kiran

Development of biomarkers for the inhibition of SLC6A19 – a potential target to treat metabolic disorders

Event | Thu 14 November 2019
With the help of these biomarkers, we also evaluated the efficacy of four different SLC6A19 inhibitors biomarkers in wild type mice with metabolic disorders.

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