“Neutrophil vesicular trafficking and inflammation: from mechanism to translation”

Sergio Catz
Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla
Thursday, May 31, 2018 - 12:00pm
ENG102 (ENG is located at the southeast corner of Gould and Church Sts.)
Abstract: 
Neutrophils are the first line of cellular response to bacterial infections but uncontrolled neutrophil activation is associated with the development of systemic inflammation. Neutrophil functions, including secretion, are regulated by vesicular transport systems. A tight control of these mechanisms is essential to modulate the host response to infections to avoid inducing exacerbated inflammation. Recent findings from our group have uncovered molecular mechanisms of vesicular trafficking in neutrophils that control not only exocytosis but also cell migration and chemotaxis. I will discuss our finding that discrete distribution and function of Ras GTPases at the uropod is regulated by vesicular trafficking, thereby controlling neutrophil directional migration. I will also present novel mechanisms of azurophilic granule secretion dysregulation recently identified in my lab, and the related implementations of screening strategies to identify novel small-molecule inhibitors of neutrophil vesicular trafficking and inflammation.
Host: 
Mauricio Terebiznik, U. Toronto and Roberto Botelho, Ryerson U.