José Luis Soulages

	Title	Associate Professor
	Office	147A NRC
	Phone	405-744-6212
	Email	jose.soulages@okstate.edu
	Degree	Ph.D. Biochemistry. 1989. Universidad Nacional de La Plata, Argentina.
	Website

Research Area (top)

Biochemistry and biophysics of lipids and lipoproteins

We study some aspects of transport, degradation, and synthesis of lipids.
Cholesterol: The concentration of cholesterol in human plasma is related to the probability of developing atherosclerorsis and cardiovascular disease. We are studying the mechanisms of cholesterol release from adipocytes to extracellular acceptors such as human high density lipoprotein (HDL) and apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I).
Triacylglycerol: Triacylglycerol metabolism is highly related to the development of obesity and diabetes. A major goal of our studies is to understand the mechanisms of regulation of the rates of synthesis and degradation of triglyceride (TG) in adipose tissue. In collaboration with Dr. Estela Arrese we are studying the mechanisms of regulation of the rates of triacylglycerol synthesis and degradation in adipocytes (main cells present in adipose tissue) from mouse and insects. 

Selected Publications (top)

Arrese EL, Rivera L, Masakasu H, Mirza S, Hartson S, Weintraub S, and Soulages JL. 2008. Function and structure of lipid storage droplet protein 1 studied in lipoprotein complexes. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 473, 42-47.

Arrese EL, Rivera L, Masakazu H, and Soulages JL. 2008. Purification and Characterization of Recombinant Lipid Storage Protein-2 from Drosophila melanogaster. Protein and Peptide Letters 15, 1027-1032.

Verghese PB, Arrese EL, Howard Smith AD, and Soulages JL. 2008. Brefeldin A Inhibits Cholesterol Efflux Without Affecting The Rate Of Cellular Uptake And Resecretion Of Apolipoprotein A-I in Adipocytes. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 478, 161-166.

Arrese EL, Mirza S, Rivera L, Howard AD, Chetty PS, and Soulages JL. 2008. Expression of lipid storage droplet protein-1 may define the role of AKH as a lipid mobilizing hormone in Manduca sexta. Insect Biochem Molec Biol. 38, 993-100

Bock, R.A., Soulages, J.L., and Barrow, W.W. 2007. Substrate and inhibitor specificity of Mycobacterium avium dihydrofolate reductase. Febs J 274:3286-3298.

Verghese, P.B., Arrese, E.L., and Soulages, J.L. 2007. Stimulation of lipolysis enhances the rate of cholesterol efflux to HDL in adipocytes. Mol Cell Biochem 302:241-248.

Bommineni, Y.R., Dai, H., Gong, Y.X., Soulages, J.L., Fernando, S.C., Desilva, U., Prakash, O., and Zhang, G. 2007. Fowlicidin-3 is an alpha-helical cationic host defense peptide with potent antibacterial and lipopolysaccharide-neutralizing activities. Febs J 274:418-428.

Xiao, Y., Dai, H., Bommineni, Y.R., Soulages, J.L., Gong, Y.X., Prakash, O., and Zhang, G. 2006. Structure-activity relationships of fowlicidin-1, a cathelicidin antimicrobial peptide in chicken. Febs J 273:2581-2593.

Patel, R.T., Soulages, J.L., and Arrese, E.L. 2006. Adipokinetic hormone-induced mobilization of fat body triglyceride stores in Manduca sexta: role of TG-lipase and lipid droplets. Arch Insect Biochem Physiol 63:73-81.

Arrese, E.L., Patel, R.T., and Soulages, J.L. 2006. The main triglyceride-lipase from the insect fat body is an active phospholipase A(1): identification and characterization. J Lipid Res 47:2656-2667.

Garcia, C.F., Cunningham, M., Soulages, J.L., Garda, H.A., and Pollero, R. 2006. Structural characterization of the lipovitellin from the shrimp Macrobrachium borellii. Comp Biochem Physiol B Biochem Mol Biol 145:365-370.

Patel, R.T., Soulages, J.L., Hariharasundaram, B., and Arrese, E.L. 2005. Activation of the lipid droplet controls the rate of lipolysis of triglycerides in the insect fat body. J Biol Chem 280:22624-22631.

Toledo, J.D., Prieto, E.D., Gonzalez, M.C., Soulages, J.L., and Garda, H.A. 2004. Functional independence of a peptide with the sequence of human apolipoprotein A-I central region. Arch Biochem Biophys 428:188-197.

Patel, R., Soulages, J.L., Wells, M.A., and Arrese, E.L. 2004. cAMP-dependent protein kinase of Manduca sexta phosphorylates but does not activate the fat body triglyceride lipase. Insect Biochem Mol Biol 34:1269-1279.

Chetty, P.S., Arrese, E.L., Rodriguez, V., and Soulages, J.L. 2003. Role of helices and loops in the ability of apolipophorin-III tointeract with native lipoproteins and form Discoidal Lipoprotein Complexes. Biochemistry 42:15061-15067.

Soulages, J.L., Kim, K., Arrese, E.L., Walters, C., and Cushman, J.C. 2003. Conformation of a group 2 late embryogenesis abundant protein from soybean. Evidence of poly (L-proline)-type II structure. Plant Physiol 131:963-975.

Lab Members (top)