Vytas Bankaitis

About

Vytas A. Bankaitis, PhD, is a Distinguished Professor and the E.L. Wehner-Welch Foundation Chair in Chemistry at Texas A&M University Naresh K. Vashisht College of Medicine. His laboratory focuses on the regulatory interfaces between novel lipid-mediated signal transduction pathways and important cellular functions. The primary research interest is in phosphatidylinositol/phosphatidylcholine transfer proteins (PITPs), a ubiquitous but enigmatic class of proteins. His work involves biochemical characterization of novel metazoan PITP family members, as well as genetic, molecular, and biophysical approaches to detailed structural and functional analyses of PITPs. His research includes studying the mechanism of function of fungal and plant PITPs and generating knockout mice to analyze the function of specific PITP isoforms in mammals. His collective evidence indicates that PITPs coordinate key interfaces of lipid-driven metabolic reactions and intracellular signaling pathways in both yeast and mammals, with dysfunctions linked to membrane trafficking, growth factor receptor function, cell growth control, and developmental pathways, which are relevant to cancer mechanisms. His laboratory employs molecular biology, protein and lipid biochemistry, microscopy, gene knockout technology, and drug discovery approaches. Key contributions include demonstrating lipids' role in membrane trafficking regulation, identifying in vivo functions of PITPs, solving structural folds of PITPs, and…

Research topics

• Biology
• Cell biology
• Biochemistry

Selected publications

• Noncanonical regulation of phosphatidylserine metabolism by a Sec14-like protein and a lipid kinase

  The Journal of Cell Biology · 2020 · 21 citations

  Senior authorCorresponding

  The yeast phosphatidylserine (PtdSer) decarboxylase Psd2 is proposed to engage in a membrane contact site (MCS) for PtdSer decarboxylation to phosphatidylethanolamine (PtdEtn). This proposed MCS harbors Psd2, the Sec14-like phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PITP) Sfh4, the Stt4 phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 4-OH kinase, the Scs2 tether, and an uncharacterized protein. We report that, of these components, only Sfh4 and Stt4 regulate Psd2 activity in vivo. They do so via distinct mechanisms.…

  DOI

• Lipid transfer proteins and instructive regulation of lipid kinase activities: Implications for inositol lipid signaling and disease

  Advances in Biological Regulation · 2020 · 20 citations

  DOI

• Restoration of PITPNA in Type 2 diabetic human islets reverses pancreatic beta-cell dysfunction

  Nature Communications · 2023-07-17 · 15 citations

  articleOpen access

  Abstract Defects in insulin processing and granule maturation are linked to pancreatic beta-cell failure during type 2 diabetes (T2D). Phosphatidylinositol transfer protein alpha (PITPNA) stimulates activity of phosphatidylinositol (PtdIns) 4-OH kinase to produce sufficient PtdIns-4-phosphate (PtdIns-4-P) in the trans-Golgi network to promote insulin granule maturation. PITPNA in beta-cells of T2D human subjects is markedly reduced suggesting its depletion accompanies beta-cell dysfunction. Cond…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Phosphatidylinositol transfer protein/planar cell polarity axis regulates neocortical morphogenesis by supporting interkinetic nuclear migration

  Cell Reports · 2022-05-01 · 14 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior authorCorresponding

  The neocortex expands explosively during embryonic development. The earliest populations of neural stem cells (NSCs) form a thin pseudostratified epithelium whose contour determines that of the adult neocortex. Neocortical complexity is accompanied by disproportional expansion of the NSC layer in its tangential dimension to increase tissue surface area. How such disproportional expansion is controlled remains unknown. We demonstrate that a phosphatidylinositol transfer protein (PITP)/non-canonic…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Translational control of lipogenesis links protein synthesis and phosphoinositide signaling with nuclear division in <i>Saccharomyces cerevisiae</i>

  Genetics · 2021-10-09 · 8 citations

  articleOpen access

  Continuously dividing cells coordinate their growth and division. How fast cells grow in mass determines how fast they will multiply. Yet, there are few, if any, examples of a metabolic pathway that actively drives a cell cycle event instead of just being required for it. Here, we show that translational upregulation of lipogenic enzymes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae increased the abundance of lipids and promoted nuclear elongation and division. Derepressing translation of acetyl-CoA carboxylase a…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

Recent grants

• Role of the Phospholipids in Golgi Secretory Function

  NIH · $7.2M · 1991–2020

• NIH Grant R56NS037723

  NIH · $370k · 2011

• NIH Grant R01GM081774

  NIH · $1.1M · 2012

Frequent coauthors

• Carl J. Mousley

  Curtin University

  66 shared

• Ashutosh Tripathi

  The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston

  60 shared

• Gabriel Schaaf

  Institute of Crop Science

  53 shared

• Aaron H. Nile

  Enzo Life Sciences (United States)

  36 shared

• Zhigang Xie

  35 shared

• James G. Alb

  University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

  35 shared

• Aby Grabon

  Pediatrics and Genetics

  33 shared

• Max Lönnfors

  Åbo Akademi University

  27 shared

Awards & honors

• NCAA Postgraduate Fellowship (1978)
• President's Award for the outstanding student research prese…
• Predoctoral Fellowship of the Humphrey Foundation (1980)
• Postdoctoral Fellowship of the Helen Hay Whitney Foundation…
• Arnold Beckman Scholar (1986)

Similar researchers at Texas A&M University

• Ashok K. Shettyh-88
• David Threadgillh-82
• Fei Liuh-38