Seminars and Events

Past Events

Category Seminar
Date and Time 2010-11-04 16:00 - 17:00
Venue Seminar Room A7F
Speaker Frieder Schoeck
Affiliation Department of Biology McGill University, Canada
Title Integrin activation and cytoskeletal remodeling mediated by LIM domain proteins
Poster click here to download(PDF)
Host Shigeo Hayashi
Summary Adequate cell-matrix adhesion is required for most developmental processes. Cell-matrix adhesion is largely mediated by heterodimeric integrin receptors, which link extracellular matrix proteins to the actin cytoskeleton. The strength of cell-matrix adhesion is regulated by inside-out integrin activation through talin binding to the β integrin cytoplasmic tail. Using an RNAi screen, we identified two LIM domain-encoding genes involved in integrin-mediated cell spreading in Drosophila S2R+ cells.
One gene is called Zasp and encodes a protein with PDZ and LIM domains. Zasp mutant embryos show muscle attachment defects consistent with a role for Zasp in inside-out integrin activation. Zasp directly interacts with both β integrin and talin, and overexpression of the talin head domain can partially suppress Zasp mutant phenotypes. Our data indicate that Zasp facilitates interaction of the talin head domain with the integrin cytoplasmic tail.
The second gene is called Lasp and is the only member of the nebulin family of actin-binding proteins in Drosophila. Lasp null mutants are viable, but are male sterile and exhibit muscle weakness. They have defects in myofibril assembly and in specialized integrin adhesion sites. We will report on Lasp’s potential role in remodeling of the actin cytoskeleton.
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