Description:

The Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Genetics Departmental Seminar Series presents:

Cara Gottardi, PhD
Associate Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary and Critical Care)
Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

Cell-cell cohesion is a defining feature of multicellular organisms, but what constitutes dynamic versus static adhesion at the molecular level, and how the state of cell-cell adhesion is interpreted by the nucleus to control gene expression and cellular differentiation remain outstanding questions. The cadherin/catenin adhesion system is widely viewed as a master regulator of this cell-cell adhesion. I will provide evidence for how the critical actin-binding component in this complex, alpha-catenin, is regulated by both chemical and mechanical signals to coordinate tissue behaviors. Possible nuclear roles for this actin-binding protein will also be presented. Lastly, I will discuss the contribution of a developmentally redundant, tissue-restricted variant of alpha-catenin in asthma, which stands to implicate a novel cell-type and molecular dysfunction with disease pathogenesis.