Konstantin V. Kandror, PhD

Professor, Biochemistry & Cell Biology

Konstantin Kandror
617.638.5049
72 E. Concord St Silvio Conte (K)

Biography

Expertise includes: Insulin action; Adipocyte biology; Membrane traffic.

Adipocytes, skeletal myocytes and some neurons express a specific isoform of the glucose transporter protein, Glut4. Under basal conditions this transporter is localized in intracellular membrane vesicles which fuse with the plasma membrane upon insulin administration. Translocation of Glut4 plays a major role in post-prandial glucose clearance and, more generally, in glucose sensing and metabolic homeostasis in the body. For a number of years, my lab has been involved in the dissection of the “Glut4 pathway” in various insulin-sensitive cells.

Another key physiological function of insulin is to inhibit lipolysis and to promote storage of triglycerides in fat tissue. Recently, we have discovered two novel pathways of regulation of lipolysis by insulin. One of these pathways is mediated by the insulin- and nutrient-sensitive mammalian Target of Rapamycin Complex 1, while the other is mediated by transcriptional factor FoxO1. Currently, we are engaged in the dissection of both pathways at the molecular level.

Fat represents an important secretory tissue in the body. Unlike typical endocrine and exocrine cells, adipocytes produce and secret several physiologically important proteins, such as leptin, adiponectin, lipoprotein lipase, etc. and switch the secretory process from one protein to another in response to changing metabolic conditions. We are exploring connections between food intake, obesity and secretion of adipokines in order to understand the central role of fat tissue in the orchestrating the overall response of the organism to changing metabolic conditions.

Other Positions

  • Member, Evans Center for Interdisciplinary Biomedical Research, Boston University
  • Member, Genome Science Institute, Boston University
  • Professor, Endocrinology, Diabetes & Nutrition, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students), Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Education

  • USSR Academy of Sciences, PhD
  • Moscow State University, BS

Publications

  • Published on 12/21/2023

    Zaarur N, Meriin AB, Singh M, Goel RK, Zaia J, Kandror KV. Akt may associate with insulin-responsive vesicles via interaction with sortilin. FEBS Lett. 2024 Feb; 598(4):390-399. PMID: 38105115.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 5/26/2023

    Lotfollahzadeh S, Xia C, Amraei R, Hua N, Kandror KV, Farmer SR, Wei W, Costello CE, Chitalia V, Rahimi N. Inactivation of Minar2 in mice hyperactivates mTOR signaling and results in obesity. Mol Metab. 2023 Jul; 73:101744. PMID: 37245847.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 9/28/2022

    Meriin AB, Zaarur N, Roy D, Kandror KV. Egr1 plays a major role in the transcriptional response of white adipocytes to insulin and environmental cues. Front Cell Dev Biol. 2022; 10:1003030. PMID: 36246998.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 9/19/2022

    Meriin AB, Zaarur N, Bogan JS, Kandror KV. Inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis cause Glut4 translocation and increase glucose uptake in adipocytes. Sci Rep. 2022 Sep 19; 12(1):15640. PMID: 36123369.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 7/5/2019

    Zaarur N, Desevin K, Mackenzie J, Lord A, Grishok A, Kandror KV. ATGL-1 mediates the effect of dietary restriction and the insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway on longevity in C. elegans. Mol Metab. 2019 09; 27:75-82. PMID: 31311719.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 4/3/2019

    Pan X, Meriin A, Huang G, Kandror KV. Insulin-responsive amino peptidase follows the Glut4 pathway but is dispensable for the formation and translocation of insulin-responsive vesicles. Mol Biol Cell. 2019 06 01; 30(12):1536-1543. PMID: 30943117.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 3/7/2019

    Mohtar O, Ozdemir C, Roy D, Shantaram D, Emili A, Kandror KV. Egr1 mediates the effect of insulin on leptin transcription in adipocytes. J Biol Chem. 2019 04 12; 294(15):5784-5789. PMID: 30846562.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 3/7/2018

    Zaarur N, Pan X, Kandror KV. Detection of Detergent-sensitive Interactions Between Membrane Proteins. J Vis Exp. 2018 03 07; (133). PMID: 29578521.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 11/14/2017

    Boesze-Battaglia K, Walker LP, Dhingra A, Kandror K, Tang HY, Shenker BJ. Internalization of the Active Subunit of the Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans Cytolethal Distending Toxin Is Dependent upon Cellugyrin (Synaptogyrin 2), a Host Cell Non-Neuronal Paralog of the Synaptic Vesicle Protein, Synaptogyrin 1. Front Cell Infect Microbiol. 2017; 7:469. PMID: 29184850.

    Read at: PubMed
  • Published on 10/1/2017

    Kandror KV. Mammalian target of rapamycin complex 1 and FoxO1 in the transcriptional control of lipolysis and de novo lipogenesis. Curr Opin Endocrinol Diabetes Obes. 2017 Oct; 24(5):326-331. PMID: 28841634.

    Read at: PubMed

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