Malene Skuseth Slinning

Vaults are large ribonucleoprotein complexes (13 MDa) found in most eukaryotic organisms. The mammalian vault complex consists of three proteins; the major vault protein (MVP), telomerase-associated protein 1 (TEP1), and vault poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase, as well as small untranslated vault RNAs. The functional role of the vault complex is still poorly understood. However, it has been hypothesized to be involved in various cellular processes such as cell signaling, transport, multidrug resistance, and immune response. The PhD project aims to functionally characterize the vault complex using the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis) as a model.