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SUMMARY:Mechanical forces as long-range organizers of cellular physiology
DTSTART:20261016T160000
DTEND:20261016T164500
DTSTAMP:20260921T191032Z
UID:a6296ad6006859f1f7d6007dfc668f46297dd7fa2fb9062d8718e751
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr. Henry De Belly\, UTSW\nIn migrating cells\, the GTPase Rac
  organizes a protrusive front\, whereas Rho organizes a contractile back\,
  yet how these GTPases segregate remains unclear. We leverage optogenetics
 \, mechanical perturbations\, and modeling to reveal a mechanochemical lon
 g-range mutual activation between front and back polarity programs that co
 mplements their known local mutual inhibition. Rac-driven protrusions incr
 ease membrane tension\, triggering mTORC2-dependent Rho activation at the 
 opposite side of the cell. Conversely\, Rho-mediated contractility induces
  cortical-flow regulation of phosphoinositide signaling\, promoting distal
  Rac activation. Our findings demonstrate how the actin cortex and plasma 
 membrane interact as an integrated mechanochemical system for long-range R
 ac-Rho patterning. Efficient migration also requires polarized organizatio
 n of the cell interior\, with organelle positioning increasingly recognize
 d as a key determinant of cell movement. Yet how this organization is esta
 blished remains unclear. Building on our mechanochemical framework\, we no
 w investigate how actin-generated forces position organelles during migrat
 ion and how disruption of this intracellular organization contributes to d
 isease.\n\nWebsite of the De Belly lab: https://cri.utsw.edu/faculty/henr
 y-de-belly/\n\nThis is part of the Physics of Living Systems monthly sympo
 sium: https://pols.epfl.ch/physics-of-living-systems-seminars/monthly-sym
 posium/
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717 https://epfl.zoom.u
 s/j/7467019292
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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