Wayne State University
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School of Medicine
Biochemistry
Bharati Mitra

Bharati Mitra

Professor

bmitra@med.wayne.edu

313-577-0040

Bharati Mitra

Position Title

 Professor

Education

Ph.D., Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, 1990

Graduate

Accepting new MS students in 2024: Yes (BMB)
Accepting new PhD students in 2024: No

Office Location

5300 Scott Hall

Research

Dr. Mitra's research involves trace metals in biology.

Research Focus

Trace metals such as zinc, iron, manganese and copper are essential for life and act as cofactors in proteins and as signaling systems. However, they are toxic in excess. Other trace metals such as cadmium and lead have no known biological functions and are highly toxic. Maintaining optimal intracellular concentrations of essential trace metals while developing resistance to purely toxic metals is an important biological problem. Metal transporting proteins located in membranes (both uptake and efflux pumps), together with metal chelators and chaperones, are important in metal homeostatic mechanisms. Our research interests are in studying metal transporters important for zinc, cadmium, lead and other metals. Defects in zinc and copper transporters have been correlated with many diseases, including cancer, neurological diseases and asthma. Our work takes a biochemical and structural approach to study how metal transporters function. Studying metal transporters at a molecular level can lead to a better understanding of the chemistry of metals in biology and is also useful in analyzing how defects these proteins lead to certain diseases.

Recent evidence suggests that there is a link between exposure to and accumulations of high levels of trace metals such as cadmium in the body and genetic background, with increased risk of cancers, such as prostate cancer. Our studies seek to establish if high levels of certain trace metals lead to increased risk of cancer in defined populations.

Techniques used in our laboratory include genetic engineering, membrane protein biochemical characterization, steady-state and stopped-flow kinetics, absorbance and fluorescence spectroscopy, metal ion analysis using ICP-MS, binding studies, and protein structure determination, including structure of metal centers in transporters.
 

Publications

  • Roberts, C.S., Ni, F., & Mitra, B. (2021) “The Zinc and Iron Binuclear Transport Center of ZupT, a ZIP transporter from Escherichia coli”, Biochemistry 2021, 60(48), 3738-3752. (doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.1c00621).
  • Roberts, C.S., Muralidharan, S., Ni, F., & Mitra, B. (2020) “Structural role of the first four transmembrane helices in ZntA, a P1B-type ATPase from Escherichia coli”, Biochemistry 59(47), 4488-4498. (doi: 10.1021/acs.biochem.0c00770).
  • Patel, K., Ahmed, Z.S., Huang, X., Yang, Q., Ekinci, E., Neslund-Dudas, C.M., Mitra, B., Elnady, F.A., Ahn, Y.H., Yang, H., Liu, J., & Dou, Q.P. (2018) “Discovering proteasomal deubiquitinating enzyme inhibitors for cancer therapy: lessons learned from rational design, nature and old drug reposition”, Future Medicinal Chemistry 10(17), 2087-2108.
  • Narayanasami, S., Liu, S., Li, W., Mathews, F.S., Mitra, B., & Kandavelu, P. (2018) "Structure of the monotopic membrane protein (S)-Mandelate Dehydrogenase at 2.2 Å resolution”, Biochimie 154, 45-54.
  • Neslund-Dudas, C., McBride, R.B., Kandegedara, A., Rybicki, B.A., Kryvenko, O.N., Chitale, D., Gupta, N., Williamson, S., Rogers, C., Cardon-Colba, C., Rundle, A., Levin, A., Dou, Q.P., & Mitra, B., (2018) “Association between cadmium and androgen receptor protein expression differs in prostate tumors of African-American and European-American men”, J. of Trace Elements in Medicine and Biology 48, 233-238.
  • Schmitt, S., Neslund-Dudas, C., Shen, M., Cui, C., Mitra, B., Dou, Q.P. (2016) “Involvement of ALAD-20S Proteasome Complexes in Ubiquitination and Acetylation of Proteasomal α2 Subunit”, Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 117(1), 144-51.
  • Neslund-Dudas, C., Levin, A.M., Beebe-Dimmer, J., Bock, C.H., Nock, N.L., Rundle, A., Jankowski, M., Krajenta, R., Dou, Q.P., Mitra, B., Tang, D., Rebbeck, T.R., & Rybicki, B.A., (2014) “Gene-environment interactions between JAZF1 and occupational and household lead exposure in prostate cancer among African American men”, Cancer Causes Control 25, 869-79.
  • Neslund-Dudas, C., Levin, A.M., Rundle, A., Beebe-Dimmer, J., Bock, C.H., Nock, N.L., Jankowski, M., Datta, I., Krajenta, R., Dou, Q.P., Mitra, B., Tang, D., & Rybicki, B.A., (2014) “Case-only gene-environment interaction between ALAD tagSNPs and occupational lead exposure in prostate cancer”, The Prostate 74, 637-46.
  • Neslund-Dudas, C., Kandegedara, A., Kryvenko, O.N., Gupta, N., Rogers, C., Rybicki, B.A., Dou, Q.P., & Mitra, B. (2014) “Prostate tissue metal levels and prostate cancer recurrence in smokers", Biological Trace Elements Research 157, 107-112.
  • Buac, D., Shen, M., Schmitt, S., Kona, F.R., Deshmukh, R., Zhang, Z., Neslund-Dudas, C., Mitra, B. & Dou, Q.P. (2013) “From Bortezomib to Other Inhibitors of the Proteasome and Beyond”, Current Pharmaceutical Design, 19(22), 4025-4038.
  • Neslund-Dudas, C., Mitra, B., Kandegedara, A., Chen, D., Schmidt, S., Shen, M., Cui, Q., Rybicki, B.A., & Dou, Q.P. (2012) “Association of metals and proteasome activity in erythrocytes of prostate cancer cases and controls”, Biological Trace Elements Research 149, 5-9.
  • Narayanasami, S., Dewanti, A.R., Merli, A., Rossi, G.L., Mitra, B., & Mathews, F.S. (2009) "Structures of the G81A Mutant of the active chimera of (S)-Mandelate Dehydrogenase and its complex with two of its substrates”, Acta Cryst. D Biol. Crystallogr. 65, 543-552.

Courses taught by Bharati Mitra

Winter Term 2025 (future)

Fall Term 2024

Winter Term 2024

Fall Term 2023

Winter Term 2023

Fall Term 2022

Winter Term 2022

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