Mycolactone - a Mycobacterium ulcerans lipid dysregulating host cell dynamics
Event details
| Date | 22.03.2010 |
| Hour | 13:30 |
| Speaker | Caroline Demangel, Institut Pasteur |
| Location |
SV 1717A
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Mycobacterium ulcerans is unique among human pathogens in its capacity to produce mycolactones, a family of macrocyclic polyketides required for virulence. Mycolactones are diffusible molecules penetrating target cells passively and causing their death by an apoptosis-dependent mechanism. Inactive on bacteria, their biological activity appears restricted to protozoa, insect and vertebrate cells. In immune cells, mycolactones display additional and original properties, resulting in decreased responsiveness to stimulation and impaired trafficking capacity. Our recent data suggest that mycolactones cause these various alterations by interfering with the eukaryotic cytoskeletal machinery, through an interaction with key regulators of actin polymerisation that are essential for many immune cell functions. Implications for the neutralization of mycolactones and their potential therapeutic uses will be discussed.
Links
Practical information
- General public
- Free
Organizer
- Prof. Stewart Cole
Contact
- Caroline Guinchard