Date: 25 April 2024 (Thursday)
Time: 5:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Venue: Cheung Kung Hai Lecture Theatre 1, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road

5:00 p.m.

Presenter: Ho Ping SIU (PhD candidate)
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Julian Alexander TANNER
Presentation Title:  Protein enrichment by liquid-liquid phase separation for sensitive saliva-based COVID diagnosis using electrochemical aptamer biosensor
Abstract:  Aptamer is a single-stranded DNA capable of recognizing specific target biomolecules. Electrochemical sensors offer high signal transduction efficiency and device miniaturization. Together, electrochemical aptamer biosensor (E-AB) is an alternative solution for rapid and point-of-care (POC) diagnosis. However, trace protein biomarker detection in early stages of disease progression using E-AB remains challenging due to limiting clinical sensitivity. To address this issue, we investigated signal amplification strategies from the assay design prospective. We report the development of two E-AB models for saliva-based COVID detection based on aptamer recognition to either nucleocapsid (N) or spike (S) protein. We first constructed an E-AB based on aptamer structural switching properties for single-step rapid N protein sensing (within 5 minutes) but it had insufficient clinical sensitivity. We then applied liquid-liquid phase separation (LLPS) for S protein concentration upstream to achieve sensitive sub-nanomolar detection. We hope to combine the benefits of the two models and generalize the method for rapid and sensitive detection of other critical protein markers.

5:30 p.m.

Presenter:  Canhui SU (PhD candidate)
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Man Lung FUNG
Presentation Title:  Innovative senotherapeutic vaccine enhances lifespan and reduces age-related pathologies in aging mice
Abstract:  Cellular senescence, characterized by an irreversible cell cycle arrest, contributes to aging and age-related pathologies. The removal of senescent cells has been shown to alleviate age-related changes in mice. In this study, we developed a novel senolytic peptide vaccine, designed around T-cell epitopes of a protein overexpressed in senescent cells. This vaccine successfully elicited specific T-cell immune responses against these epitopes. We observed that T cells from vaccinated mice effectively eliminated senescent BALB/c-3T3 fibroblast cells induced by DNA damage, or P16INK4a overexpression in vitro. In a senescence mouse model induced by D-galactose or a high-fat diet, the vaccine mitigated body weight changes, reduced oxidative stress, and suppressed the expression of senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) and other senescence-related genes in liver and adipose tissues. Moreover, the vaccine significantly extended the lifespan of naturally aging mice, particularly male mice. Our results demonstrate that this innovative vaccine has the potential to serve as an effective and selective senolytic agent for aging and age-associated diseases driven by senescence.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Jerry Siu at 3917 6912.