Graduate student Phil Esempio will be presenting
"Structural and Biophysical Models for Vinculin-Phospholipid Interactions"
on April 11, 2017 at 4:10 PM in Neville Hall, Room 3.
Abstract
Vinculin is an essential adaptor protein which mediates connections between the cellular cytoskeleton (specifically filamentous actin) and the plasma membrane in eukaryotic cells. Vinculin plays a role in the regulation of focal adhesions, cellular adhesion and migration, wound healing, and cellular response to mechanical forces. Decreased or complete loss of vinculin expression is observed in many disease states, including cancer, cardiovascular disease, and embryonic lethality. Recent research into the mechanisms by which vinculin links filamentous actin to the membrane have shown that it binds to a specific phospholipid, phosphatidylinositol 4,5-biphosphate (PIP2), and that specific regions of the vinculin structure are responsible for these protein-lipid interactions. In particular, a number of biophysical assays were used to demonstrate that areas within the C-terminus of vinculin are crucial for binding to PIP2, and that this binding is essential for the activation of vinculin, and thus the regulation of focal adhesions. These interactions may prove essential for the elucidation of other protein/lipid interactions, and their role in numerous disease states.
References
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