Date: Wednesday, 1 June 2022

Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue: Cheung Kung Hai Lecture Theatre 1, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, Faculty of Medicine Building, 21 Sassoon Road, Pokfulam, Hong Kong

5:00 p.m.

Speaker: Dr. Li RONG(Post-doctoral Fellow)
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Jiandong HUANG
Presentation Title: NK cells provoked by engineered Salmonella potently blocks cancer metastasis
Abstract: Metastasis accounts for 90% of cancer-related deaths and, currently, there are no effective clinical therapies to block the metastatic cascade. A need to develop novel therapies specifically targeting fundamental metastasis processes remains urgent. Here, we demonstrate that Salmonella YB1, an engineered oxygen-sensitive strain, potently inhibits metastasis of a broad range of cancers. This process requires both IFN-γ and NK cells, as the absence of IFN-γ greatly reduces, whilst depletion of NK cells in vivo completely abolishes, the anti-metastatic ability of Salmonella. Mechanistically, we find that IFN-γ is mainly produced by NK cells during early Salmonella infection, and in turn, IFN-γ promotes the accumulation, activation, and cytotoxicity of NK cells, which kill the metastatic cancer cells thus achieving an anti-metastatic effect. Our findings highlight the significance of a self-regulatory feedback loop of NK cells in inhibiting metastasis, pointing a possible approach to develop anti-metastatic therapies by harnessing the power of NK cells.

5:30 p.m. 

Speaker: Dr. Xiucong BAO (Research Assistant Professor)
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Jiandong HUANG
Presentation Title: Proteomics approach to profile binding proteins of histone lysine methylation in a nucleosomal context
Abstract: Methylation of lysine at various sites on histone proteins regulates gene activation or repression depending on which residues are modified and the degree of methylation (i.e., mono-, di- or tri-methylation). Effector (or ‘reader’) proteins are key players that recognize histone methylation and translate this information into downstream gene regulation events to control gene expression. So far, readers of almost all histone methylation marks have been identified except for methylation at histone H3 lysine 79 (H3K79). Despite the important roles of H3K79 methylation, our understanding of how this histone mark is translated downstream to regulate these processes is hindered by a lack of knowledge about the ‘readers’ of H3K79 methylation. To address it, we developed a nucleosome-based photoaffinity probe to capture proteins that recognize H3K79 dimethylation in a nucleosomal context in combination with a quantitative proteomics approach.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Miss Angela Wong at 3917 9216.