Broer Group - Membrane transport and nutrition

About
Members
Projects
Publications
Stories & events

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.

Membrane transporters and channels

Group Leader

Stefan Broer

PhD Students

Postdoctoral Fellow

Stephen Fairweather

Research Officer

Angelika Broer

Technical Officers

Project	Status
ANU International applicants for PhDs in Biomedical Science and Biochemistry	Current
Cancer metabolism	Current
Diseases of amino acid transport	Current
The role of amino acids in diabetes	Current
The role of phospholipid flippases in the immune system	Current

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

Go to a complete list of publications on the ISI website.

'Compounds ANU' forges bonds between chemistry, biology and medical research

Story | Thursday 11 April 2019

Stefan Bröer is looking for the right molecule for a biological target, that could be developed into a drug to treat diabetes. Now ANU has its own library of compounds, available to biological and medical researchers, managed by the Research School of Chemistry.

ARC grant success

Story | Friday 10 November 2017

The Australian National University (ANU) has won $24 million in Australian Research Council (ARC) funding for 58 research projects across the University. 

How a rare disorder can lead to possible treatments for type 2 diabetes

Story | Thursday 9 February 2017

Hartnup disorder is a rare disorder that is caused by an inability to absorb the breakdown products of protein digestion, namely amino acids. In 2004, Stefan Bröer’s group discovered the gene that is mutated in Hartnup disorder, a transporter that mediates the absorption of amino acids in the intestine and kidney.