Jaydev Dholakia, Ph.D.

Associate Professor


319 Abraham Flexner Way, Room 719 502-852-7842 502-852-6222 (fax) jay.dholakia@louisville.edu

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Education

Ph.D., 1983, M.S. University, Baroda, India

Research Interest

Regulation of translation

Dr. Dholakia is investigating the translational control of gene expression during differentiation, development, upon fertilization and virus infection. Protein synthesis initiation in mammalian systems is regulated at the level of the guanine nucleotide exchange factor (GEF) which catalyzes the release of eIF-2-bound GDP for GTP. He has demonstrated that GEF activity may be regulated directly by phosphorylation of one of its subunits and the redox state of the cell and indirectly by the phosphorylation of eIF-2-alpha. Currently, the covalent modifications of GEF and eIF-2 under various physiological conditions are being investigated. Gene expression of eIF-2-alpha, GEF-epsilon and elongation factor 1-alpha is studied during differentiation in murine erythroleukemia cells and development in Artemia. Steady state levels and the amounts of newly synthesized mRNA and polypeptide of these factors are quantitated using molecular biology and immunological techniques. He is also interested in identifying the protein factors and the mRNA structural features that influence the translational efficiency of various mRNA species. His goal is to understand how the specific mRNAs are selected for translation during various stages of cell growth and proliferation, and also in response to hormones and virus infection.

Selected Publications

Parekh VV, Falcone JC, Wills-Frank LA, Joshua IG, Dholakia JN, Passmore JC. (2004) Protein kinase B, P34cdc2 kinase, and p21 ras GTP-binding in kidneys of aging rats. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2004 Sep;229(8):850-6. PMID: 15337841 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] Free Article

Nurizzo D, Shewry SC, Perlin MH, Brown SA, Dholakia JN, Fuchs RL, Deva T, Baker EN, Smith CA. (2003) The crystal structure of aminoglycoside-3'-phosphotransferase-IIa, an enzyme responsible for antibiotic resistance. J Mol Biol. 2003 Mar 21;327(2):491-506. PMID: 12628253 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

Perlin, M.H., Brown, S.A. and Dholakia, J.N. 2000. Developing a snapshot of the ATP binding domain(s) of aminoglycoside phosphotransferases. Front. Biosci. 4:D63-D71.

Erdogdu, G., Dholakia, J.N. and Washba, A.J. 2000. Purification and some properties of an oxidative inhibitor in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. Z. Naturforsch. C-J Bioscience 53:897-910.

Hille M. B., Zhe, X. and Dholakia, J. N. (1996) The signal cascade for the activation of protein synthesis during the maturation of starfish oocytes: A role for protein kinase C and homologies with other species. Invertebrate reproduction and development 30: 81-97.

Prostko, C.R., Dholakia, J.N., Brostrom, M.A., and Brostrom, C.O. (1995) Activation of the double-stranded RNA-regulated protein kinase by depletion of endoplasmic reticular calcium stores. J Biol Chem 270, 6211-6215.

Henderson, R.A., Krissansen, G.W., Yong, R.Y.Y., Leung, E. Watson, J.D. and Dholakia, J.N. (1994) The -subunit of mammalian guanine nucleotide exchange factor eIF-2B: Characterization of genomic and cDNAs predicts isoforms differing at the amino terminal end. J Biol Chem 269, 30517-30523. .

Svitkin, Y.V., Meerovitch, K., Lee, H.S., Dholakia, J.N., Kenan, D.J., Agol, V.I. and Sonenberg, N. (1994) Internal translation initiation on polio virus RNA: Further characterization of La function in polio virus translation in vitro. J Virology 68, 1544-1550. .

Liarakos, C.D., Theus, S.A., Watson, A.N., Wahba, A.J. and Dholakia, J.N. (1994) The translation efficiency of ovalbumin mRNA is determined in part by a 5-end hairpin structure. Archives Biochem Biophys 315, 54-59.

Svitkin, Y.V., Meerovitch, K., Lee, H.S., Dholakia, J.N., Kenan, D.J., Agol, V.I. and Sonenberg, N. (1994) Internal translation initiation on polio virus RNA: Further characterization of La function in polio virus translation in vitro. J Virology 68, 1544-1550. .