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NBD Seminar Series (on-site): Nanotubes: Reshaping connectivity and role in the spreading of neurodegenerative diseases
Abstract:
Tunneling nanotubes (TNTs) are actin-based cellular connections that allow the transport of different cellular components between cells. The structure and function of TNTs have been characterized in several cell types, including neurons and astrocytes. Under homeostatic conditions, TNTs transport different vesicular cargoes and entire organelles like mitochondria and lysosomes. However, they can be hijacked by different pathogens and amyloid proteins involved in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson´s (PD) Alzheimer’s (AD). We have previously demonstrated that both alpha-synuclein and Tau aggregates, respectively the hallmark of PD and AD, can be spread - via TNTs. In my talk I will address the similarities and differences between TNT-mediated diffusion of these two types of aggregates, in order to identify common pathways leading to neurodegeneration. I will also assess the likelihood of TNT in vivo. Our most recent data indicate that TNT-like connections are present in the developing brain. Our hypothesis is that TNTs precede synaptic connections for the establishment of mature neuronal networks while in the adult tissue they are induced by stressful and inflammatory stimuli.
Venue:
Amphitheatre, Level 2
Duke-NUS Medical School
Host:
Asst Prof Cao Mian
Principal Investigator
Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders Programme, Duke-NUS
Contact Person:
Jacqueline Ho (jacqueline.ho@duke-nus.edu.sg)
Neuroscience & Behavioural Disorders Programme, Duke-NUS
Date and Time
27 Sep 2023 @ 15:00 - 27 Sep 2023 @ 16:00
Speaker
Professor Chiara Zurzolo
Head, Membrane Trafficking and Pathogenesis Unit
Co-director, Brain Connectivity & Neurodegenerative Diseases Research Program
Institut Pasteur (Paris)
Professor Chiara Zurzolo, MD, PhD, is head of the Membrane Trafficking and
Pathogenesis Unit and co-director of the Brain connectivity and neurodegenerative diseases research program at the Institut Pasteur (Paris). She received her MD and then PhD in molecular and cell biology from the University of Naples Federico II and did her postdoctoral fellowship at Cornell Medical School, New York. In 1995, she returned to Naples at the Faculty of Medicine and Surgery at Naples University Federico II as a professor of cell biology. In 2003, she became director of research at the Institut Pasteur in Paris where she studies the mechanisms of protein trafficking in health and diseases with a focus on neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. In 2015, she was elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) and
promoted Professor at Institut Pasteur.