Yeongho Kim, PhD
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About
Titles
Associate Research Scientist
Biography
I am a scientist researching lipid biochemistry and cell biology. I received my Ph.D. in 2018 in the Genetics, Cellular, and Molecular Biology program at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. My Ph.D. research was to understand and engineer the biochemistry of biodiesel precursors (lipids/fats) in a single-cell microalga called Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. As a postdoctoral associate, I have worked with Dr. Chris Burd in the Cell Biology department at Yale since 2018 to bridge my research of lipid metabolism to up-to-date human cell biology. I am currently studying how the Golgi apparatus regulates its lipid/protein compositions, with emphasis on the interplay of cholesterol and sphingolipid metabolism and the ER-Golgi Membrane Contact Sites. I am also studying how cholesterol and sphingolipid affect Amyloid Beta production/accumulation that causes Alzheimer's disease, focusing on lipid interactions to gamma-secretase and Amyloid Precursor Protein. Outside of the lab I spend most of the time with my family, or casually playing tennis and guitar.
Appointments
Cell Biology
Associate Research ScientistPrimary
Other Departments & Organizations
Education & Training
- PhD
- University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Genetics, Cell, and Molecular Biology (2018)
- BS
- Pohang University of Science and Technology, Life Science (2012)
Research
Publications
2024
Post-Translational Regulation of a Bidomain Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Catalyzing Glycerol Synthesis under Salinity Stress in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Cruz-Powell I, Subedi B, Kim Y, Morales-Sánchez D, Cerutti H. Post-Translational Regulation of a Bidomain Glycerol-3-Phosphate Dehydrogenase Catalyzing Glycerol Synthesis under Salinity Stress in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. Phycology 2024, 4: 213-234. DOI: 10.3390/phycology4020012.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchGlycerol-3-phosphate dehydrogenaseGlycerol-3-phosphate phosphataseGlycerol-3-phosphateGlycerol synthesisWild typeInhibitor of cytoplasmic protein synthesisPlastid-localized enzymeResponse of microalgaePost-translational regulationTransgenic strainsCytoplasmic protein synthesisSynthesis of glycerolHigh salinityExposure to high salinityCore chlorophytesInhibitors of protein kinasesChlamydomonas reinhardtiiGlycerol accumulationNutrient deprivationGPD2Protein kinaseProtein activityAccumulate glycerolSalt stressEnvironmental stressCalcium flow at ER-TGN contact sites facilitates secretory cargo export
Ramazanov B, Parchure A, Di Martino R, Kumar A, Chung M, Kim Y, Griesbeck O, Schwartz M, Luini A, von Blume J. Calcium flow at ER-TGN contact sites facilitates secretory cargo export. Molecular Biology Of The Cell 2024, 35: ar50. PMID: 38294859, PMCID: PMC11064664, DOI: 10.1091/mbc.e23-03-0099.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2023
Cholesterol-dependent homeostatic regulation of very long chain sphingolipid synthesis
Kim Y, Mavodza G, Senkal C, Burd C. Cholesterol-dependent homeostatic regulation of very long chain sphingolipid synthesis. Journal Of Cell Biology 2023, 222: e202308055. PMID: 37787764, PMCID: PMC10547602, DOI: 10.1083/jcb.202308055.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsPlasma membraneEpidermal growth factor receptor signalingMembrane lipid homeostasisGrowth factor receptor signalingAcute cholesterol depletionCellular cholesterol homeostasisPlasma membrane cholesterol contentCellular cholesterol levelsMembrane lipid packingSterol-responsive elementMembrane cholesterol contentProtein translationCytoplasmic leafletCholesterol depletionSphingolipid synthesisGolgi apparatusProtein pathwayResponsive elementLipid homeostasisRegulatory axisReceptor signalingLysosome membraneSphingomyelin synthesisAccumulation of cholesterolMetabolic axisLipid Sorting and Organelle Identity.
Kim Y, Burd C. Lipid Sorting and Organelle Identity. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives In Biology 2023, 15: a041397. PMID: 37487627, PMCID: PMC10547387, DOI: 10.1101/cshperspect.a041397.Peer-Reviewed Reviews, Practice Guidelines, Standards, and Consensus StatementsConceptsTrafficking of lipidsSynthesis of sphingolipidsLipid transfer proteinOrganelle identityMembrane traffickingOrganelle homeostasisSoluble lipid transfer proteinsBulk membrane propertiesOrganelle functionGolgi networkLipid sortingNet membrane chargeOrganelle membranesPlasma membraneEndoplasmic reticulumParticular lipidsOrganellesTransfer proteinLeaflet asymmetryEssential roleBulk membraneCholesterol fluxTraffickingMembraneSecretoryCab45 deficiency leads to the mistargeting of progranulin and prosaposin and aberrant lysosomal positioning
Tran M, Tüshaus J, Kim Y, Ramazanov B, Devireddy S, Lichtenthaler S, Ferguson S, von Blume J. Cab45 deficiency leads to the mistargeting of progranulin and prosaposin and aberrant lysosomal positioning. Traffic 2023, 24: 4-19. PMID: 36398980, PMCID: PMC9825660, DOI: 10.1111/tra.12873.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2022
Quantification of Protein Exit at the Trans-Golgi Network
Tran M, Kim Y, von Blume J. Quantification of Protein Exit at the Trans-Golgi Network. Methods In Molecular Biology 2022, 2557: 583-594. PMID: 36512239, DOI: 10.1007/978-1-0716-2639-9_35.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsTrans-Golgi networkProtein exportSecretory pathwaySelective hooks (RUSH) systemCell biological approachesProtein of interestPulse-chase experimentsProtein exitProtein sortingExport kineticsCellular homeostasisProtein transportDifferent cargoesLive cellsBiological approachesRUSH systemProteinPathwayTraffickingHomeostasisExportCargoSortingCompartmentsCellsPathogenic variants of sphingomyelin synthase SMS2 disrupt lipid landscapes in the secretory pathway
Sokoya T, Parolek J, Foged M, Danylchuk D, Bozan M, Sarkar B, Hilderink A, Philippi M, Botto L, Terhal P, Mäkitie O, Piehler J, Kim Y, Burd C, Klymchenko A, Maeda K, Holthuis J. Pathogenic variants of sphingomyelin synthase SMS2 disrupt lipid landscapes in the secretory pathway. ELife 2022, 11: e79278. PMID: 36102623, PMCID: PMC9531943, DOI: 10.7554/elife.79278.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsSecretory pathwayER export signalPatient-derived fibroblastsFull enzymatic activityPhysical membrane propertiesExport signalSterol gradientLipid landscapeMammalian cellsCholesterol organizationLipid orderEnzymatic activityLipid distributionOsteogenic cellsPathwayBone phenotypeSMS2Glycerophospholipid profilePathogenic variantsCellsVariantsSphingomyelinSkeletal dysplasiaERSphingolipidsCa2+-activated sphingomyelin scrambling and turnover mediate ESCRT-independent lysosomal repair
Niekamp P, Scharte F, Sokoya T, Vittadello L, Kim Y, Deng Y, Südhoff E, Hilderink A, Imlau M, Clarke CJ, Hensel M, Burd CG, Holthuis JCM. Ca2+-activated sphingomyelin scrambling and turnover mediate ESCRT-independent lysosomal repair. Nature Communications 2022, 13: 1875. PMID: 35388011, PMCID: PMC8986845, DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-29481-4.Peer-Reviewed Original Research
2018
Identification and functional study of the endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor IRE1 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii
Yamaoka Y, Choi BY, Kim H, Shin S, Kim Y, Jang S, Song W, Cho CH, Yoon HS, Kohno K, Lee Y. Identification and functional study of the endoplasmic reticulum stress sensor IRE1 in Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. The Plant Journal 2018, 94: 91-104. PMID: 29385296, DOI: 10.1111/tpj.13844.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsStress sensor IRE1Unfolded protein responseIre1 mutantsER stress responseMarker gene expressionGene expressionTandem zinc finger domainStress responseER stress sensor IRE1Cytosolic C-terminal regionEndoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress sensor IRE1Zinc finger domainER stress conditionsC-terminal regionN-terminal regionROS scavenger glutathioneER stress inducersStrain CCYeast Ire1pEvolutionary historyER homeostasisEndoplasmic reticulum stressChlamydomonas reinhardtiiProtein responseChimeric proteinEndoplasmic reticulum acyltransferase with prokaryotic substrate preference contributes to triacylglycerol assembly in Chlamydomonas
Kim Y, Terng EL, Riekhof WR, Cahoon EB, Cerutti H. Endoplasmic reticulum acyltransferase with prokaryotic substrate preference contributes to triacylglycerol assembly in Chlamydomonas. Proceedings Of The National Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America 2018, 115: 1652-1657. PMID: 29382746, PMCID: PMC5816170, DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1715922115.Peer-Reviewed Original ResearchConceptsUnicellular green algaEndoplasmic reticulum membraneLysophosphatidic acid acyltransferaseChloroplastic pathwayPrecursor biosynthesisTAG precursorsNitrogen deprivationTriacylglycerol assemblyAssembly pathwayGreen algaTAG accumulationAcid acyltransferaseAcyl donor substratesReticulum membraneBiomaterial productionDonor substrateChlamydomonasTriacylglycerol metabolismPalmitoyl-CoAAcyltransferasePathwayMajor roleBiosynthesisAlgaRNA