Inke Näthke seminar: From molecule to tissue dynamics and beyond: the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli protein in epithelial biology
| Dates: | 28 November 2018 |
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| Times: | 11:00 - 12:00 |
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| What is it: | Seminar |
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| Organiser: | Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, Current University students |
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| Speaker: | Inke Näthke |
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Professor Inke Näthke established key functions of the Adenomatous Polyposis Coli (APC) protein beyond its role in Wnt signalling. APC is the major tumour suppressor for cancers in the lining of the intestinal tract. Näthke defined roles for APC in normal epithelial functions including cell migration, division, death and stem cell behaviour in situ, providing insight into the role of mutant APC in oncogenesis. She provided the first evidence for the complex relationship between different APC protein interactions during cell signalling with implications for the sensitivity of APC-deficient cells to chemotherapeutics.
Her work laid the foundation for research on how APC regulates cytoskeletal proteins. Applying biochemical insights and using pioneering imaging studies in three and four dimensions she increased our understanding of how mutations in APC alter behaviour of intestinal epithelial stem cells and cause altered tissue organisation. Recent work opens new ways of thinking about how the regulation of stem cell proliferation can contribute to tissue plasticity and cancer. Her interdisciplinary approach also revealed stem cell dynamics that underpin the process of gut elongation (crypt fission) and has provided vital data for cell-based computational models of intestinal development and cancer progression.
Her work directly impacts clinical practice with significance for diagnosis and prognosis of cancer and inflammatory diseases of the intestinal tract. Demonstrating that microultrasound can be used to detect diseased tissue provided the biological proof of concept for the SONOPILL, an ingestible capsule endoscope for measuring tissue properties at high resolution.
In her seminar she will share new results on interactions of APC that explain its role in epithelial-specific processes, new findings about effects of APC mutations on inflammatory responses and show how both of these contribute to tissue changes in early stages of cancer and inflammation.
Speaker
Inke Näthke
Role: Professor
Organisation: School of Life Sciences, University of Dundee
Travel and Contact Information
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Lecture Theatre
Michael Smith Building
Manchester
