Dr. Peying Fong

Department: Anatomy & Physiology
pfong@vet.ksu.edu
Departmental Website

Feature story in JCRC's 2020 Conquest magazine

“Our laboratory studies the regulation, structure and function of proteins that both act as tumor suppressors and mediate the movement of solutes into and out of cells. We are particularly interested in the physical and functional interactions between members of the multidrug resistance/ATP binding cassette (MDR/ABC) and solute carrier (SLC) families of transport proteins. To study these interactions, the lab melds electrophysiological, cell biological, biochemical and molecular biological approaches. We recently commenced studies of two distinct solute carrier families—SLC26 and SLC5—both of which mediate highly specific movements of organic and inorganic anions. To date, several members of these families associate with cancer. For example, the absence of either SLC26A3 or SLC5A8 associates with the presence of tumors. So, it is plausible that increasing their expression results in tumor suppression. We are especially interested in 1) defining the regulation of these transport proteins by MDR/ABC proteins within macromolecular signaling complexes, and 2) learning how their respective transport functions participate in basic processes that ultimately antagonize tumor formation.”