Speaker: Dr. Pierre McCrea
Date: Friday 12th, October, 2012
Time: 12 noon
Location: HSC 1A5
Title: Novel Catenins in Development and Disease
Abstract
Using amphibian embryos (Xenopus laevis) and mammalian cell model systems, we work upon the larger catenin family of proteins, which were first found to bind and modulate cadherin adhesion proteins at cell-cell junctions. beta-Catenin is also recognized to have multiple essential roles in development and disease/ cancer progression by virtue of transducing Wnt signals from the cytoplasm to nucleus. Expanding the view upon the canonical Wnt pathway in vertebrates, we have revealed that additional catenins are likewise directly stabilized in response to canonical Wnt pathway activity, and enter the nucleus to engage in gene control. We also recently discovered (unpublished) a number of novel catenin complexes with powerful transcription factors that will be discussed. Ultimately, we are working towards understanding if and how the functions of multiple catenins are networked to reach larger developmental objectives, and the relevance of any such coordination to human disease.
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