| Start Date: | 5/31/2018 | Start Time: | 2:00 PM |
| End Date: | 5/31/2018 | End Time: | 4:00 PM |
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Event Description
BIOMED PhD Thesis Defense
Title:
Novel Calcium Dependent Mechanisms of NF-kappaB Activation Regulate Lymphocyte Tolerance and Immunity
Speaker:
Corbett T. Berry, MD/PhD Candidate, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems
Advisors:
Bruce D. Freedman, VMD, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
Uri Hershberg, PhD, Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Engineering, Science and Health Systems, Drexel University
Abstract:
Antigen induced Ca2+ signals regulate the development of immunity and tolerance. These signals are generated when antigen binds cognate receptors on lymphocytes and triggers Ca2+ entry into the cytoplasm. Indeed, patients with functional defects in the ER transmembrane Ca2+-sensing STIM proteins, or the STIM-activated Ca2+ entry channel Orai, exhibit devastating immunodeficiency and autoimmunity.
This immune phenotype occurs as a result of dysfunctional lymphocyte development and function principally through aberrant activation of Ca2+ dependent transcription factors including NFAT and NF-kB. While the role of Ca2+ signaling in NFAT activation and signaling is well established, a wide appreciation and mechanistic understanding of how Ca2+ signals also shape the activation and specificity of NF-kB dependent gene expression is incomplete.
In these studies, we establish that STIM/Orai dependent Ca2+ entry regulates multiple checkpoints in NF-kB signaling, but also NF-kB independent pathways to regulate lymphocyte survival, proliferation, and differentiation. |
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Location:
Curtis Hall, Room 341, located at 32nd and Chestnut Streets |
Audience:
Undergraduate StudentsGraduate StudentsFacultyStaff |
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