Regulation of stress-induced apoptotic cell death by stress granule formation

Dear All,

Cell Signal Unit (Yamamoto Unit) would like to inform you of a seminar by Dr. Mutsuhiro Takekawa, Professor, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo.

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Date: Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Time: 11:00-12:00

Venue: C700 (Level C, Lab 3) or ZOOM

            ZOOM: https://oist.zoom.us/j/95131214440?pwd=ZVdaeEhXQkJ4NG0rMTJGYWJKSDlaZz09

Meeting ID: 951 3121 4440
**If you need the passcode, please send e-mail to "yuki.nakagawa[at]oist.jp".

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Speaker:

Dr. Mutsuhiro Takekawa, Professor, Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo

Title:
Regulation of stress-induced apoptotic cell death by stress granule formation

Abstract:
When confronted with environmental stresses, cells either activate defense mechanisms to survive or initiate apoptosis, depending on the level and type of stress. One of the major cellular defense mechanisms is the assembly of stress granules (SGs). SGs are cytoplasmic ribonucleoprotein foci that appear when eukaryotic cells are exposed to specific types of stress such as ER stress, heat shock, hypoxia, arsenite or viral infection. The core components of SGs are large aggregates of stalled translation pre-initiation complexes that contain mRNA, 40S ribosomal subunits, translation initiation factors and several RNA-binding proteins such as G3BP and TIA1. Therefore, by assembling SGs, cells temporarily reduce the synthesis of housekeeping proteins to prevent the accumulation of misfolded proteins under stress. Furthermore, SGs sequester several signaling molecules into the granules, thereby regulating cellular stress responses. Although the formation of SGs is considered to be a cellular adaptive defense system, the mechanism as to how SGs protect cells from apoptosis remains ill-defined. In this seminar, I will talk about the identification of SG-component proteins that control stress-induced cell death. We discovered that specific signaling molecules are selectively localized in SGs, and that the sequestration of these molecules into the granules plays an important role in the regulation of stress-induced apoptosis. Our data delineate the molecular mechanism underlying how SG assembly dictates cell-fate decisions.

Host:
Prof. Tadashi Yamamoto

We hope to see many of you at the seminar.

Best regards,

Yuki Nakagawa

Research Unit Administrator

Cell Signal Unit