Dr. Joyce Chiu
Research Fellow, ACRF Centenary Cancer Research Centre
Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Australia

Date: Friday, 26-April-2019
Time: 11:00 a.m.
Venue: Seminar Room 4, G/F, Laboratory Block, Faculty of Medicine Building
21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

Summary:
Integrins are adhesion molecules that mediate contact between cells and their extracellular matrix. Through their binding to specific ligands. integrins signal environmental cues to the cytoskeleton that determines cell fate such as growth, death, differentiation and migration. Much is known about integrin-mediated cell adhesion. How ligand dis-engages from integrin remains elusive. Integrin αIIbβ3, which is expressed on platelet surface, plays a central role in clot formation by crosslinking platelets. Dr. Chiu’s team have shown that ligand affinity of αIIbβ3 is controlled by the interplay of force and disulphide bond chemistry. This mechano-redox coupling induces long-range allosteric effects that alter ligand affinity of integrin leading to platelet de-adhesion.

ALL ARE WELCOME