The process and impact of ageing on the extracellular matrix
| Dates: | 6 April 2022 |
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| Times: | 11:00 - 12:00 |
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| What is it: | Webinar |
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| Organiser: | Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing (MICRA) |
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| Who is it for: | University staff, External researchers, Adults, Alumni, Current University students, General public |
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In mammals, tissues are composed of both cells and an organised scaffold of proteins known as the extracellular matrix (ECM), which not only provides mechanical support and a surface for cells to attach to, but also plays an important role in controlling cell behaviour. Many of the diseases which affect ageing humans involve profound changes to the ECM in organs like the intervertebral disc (degeneration), lung (emphysema), blood vessel (atherosclerosis) and skin (fragility). In contrast to the dynamic environment inside cells, where proteins are made and recycled on a daily basis, many ECM assemblies like collagen and elastic fibres can exist for decades in human tissues. Cell ageing is relatively well understood compared to ECM ageing. Events happen quickly in cells which constantly monitor and repair damaged proteins and DNA. However, since the ECM is located outside of cells, few mechanisms exist to detect and repair damage to ECM proteins. This makes long-lived ECM assemblies vulnerable to the gradual accumulation of damage by long-term exposure to agents such as reactive oxygen species (ROS), protein modifying enzymes, and sugars.
Whilst well-developed biological analysis techniques exist to identify differences in the abundance of proteins in tissues, identifying ECM proteins which have accumulated damage during ageing remains extremely difficult. In this webinar, Dr Michael Sherratt (The University of Manchester) will introduce how the ECM ages and its impact on skin. Prof Danny Chan (The University of Hong Kong) will then take us through how ECM remodelling in the ageing intervertebral disc can be characterised using proteomic mass spectrometry analyses. Finally Dr Alex Eckersley (The University of Manchester) will end by presenting a novel proteomic analysis approach (Peptide Location Fingerprinting) for identifying damaged ECM across multiple tissues (skin, lung, artery and disc), alongside their potential mechanisms and consequences of ageing.
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