Dear Students,

You are cordially invited to the lecture of MU Life Sciences Seminar:

„A Fly Model for Epithelial Tumors: Problems at Both Ends!”
by Prof. Ulrich Theopold, The Wenner-Gren Institute, Stockholm University, Sweden

WHEN: Thursday, November 4th 2021 at 4 p.m.
WHERE: Seminar room 132, pavilion B11, University Campus Bohunice

The announcement is published also at

https://seminarseries.muni.cz/life-sciences/lectures/ulrich-theopold

PhD students who would like to attend a sponsored lunch with Prof. Theopold (Thursday, at 13:00 at Campus River) please register by Wednesday November 3rd, using the form at the website above.

With best regards,
Lucie Nesvadbová
MU LSS administrator
lus@sci.muni.cz

About the lecture

Cancer cells contain multiple biological alterations that allow them to escape from host surveillance mechanisms. One of the mechanisms that play an essential role in host protection against tumor growth is immunity. However, the immune system may act as a double-edged sword with the potential to both promote and limit tumor growth in a context-dependent manner. This involves both internal and external signaling events such as stress signaling pathways but also communication between cells and/or between cells and the extracellular matrix (ECM).

We use Drosophila melanogaster (the fruitfly) to understand the role of two immune-related components, namely the antimicrobial peptide Drosomycin (Drs) and a chitinase-like protein (Idgf3), in a tumor model that involves a tubular organ, namely the salivary glands. We find the expression of both proteins affects tumor phenotypes including the epithelial organization of the glands, the integrity of the ECM, duct formation and ultimately the glands secretory activity.