Drosophila as a model for JAK/STAT associated disease
| Dates: | 9 June 2015 |
|---|
| Times: | 15:30 - 17:00 |
|---|
| What is it: | Seminar |
|---|
| Organiser: | Faculty of Life Sciences |
|---|
| Who is it for: | University staff |
|---|
| Speaker: | Martin Zeidler |
|---|
|
The JAK/STAT signal transduction cascade is named after its components, the Janus Kinase (JAK) and the downstream transcription factor termed STAT. Normally required for a wide range of developmental, haematological and immunological processes, developments over recent years have also implicated the JAK/STAT pathway in a number of human diseases. Probably the best characterised of these are the myeloproliferative neoplasms – a class of low grade haematological malignancies characterised by an excess of erythrocytes or thrombocytes. A large proportion of these patients have been shown to have dominant gain-of-function mutations in JAK2 – a mutation which is central to the development and pathology of these diseases. Essentially incurable, newly developed JAK inhibitors offer symptomatic relief but do not appear to halt disease progression.
I will describe work being undertaken in my lab which uses novel fly-based models of JAK/STAT signalling in haematopoiesis. Our work attempts to better understand the pathway and seeks to identify genes and small molecules that might ultimately prove therapeutically relevant in human patients.
Speaker
Martin Zeidler
Organisation: University of Sheffield
Travel and Contact Information
Find event
1.006
AV Hill Building
Manchester
