Date: 22 March 2023 (Wednesday)
Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Venue: Lecture Theatre 1, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road
 

5:00 p.m.

Speaker: Dr. Xinyi BI (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Primary Supervisor: Dr. Chi Wai LEE
Presentation Title: The role of SH3 domain binding kinase 1 (SBK1) in hepatic insulin sensitivity
Abstract: Enhanced hepatic gluconeogenesis is a predominant contributor to hyperglycemia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). In healthy people, hepatic gluconeogenesis is tightly regulated by insulin via insulin receptor, insulin receptor substrate 1, phosphoinositide 3-kinase, and protein kinase B (Akt) pathway. In contrast, hepatocytes in T2DM patients are insensitive to insulin stimulation, resulting in excessive gluconeogenesis. Pharmacotherapeutic strategies aiming to restrain hepatic gluconeogenesis are unsatisfactory because of periodical therapeutic efficacy and side effects. Thus, identifying new regulatory signaling molecules/pathways of hepatic gluconeogenesis is necessary for developing better therapeutic methods against hyperglycemia. To investigate the molecular mechanism of insulin resistance, we used high-fat diet (HFD) model and showed that the expression level of SH3 domain binding kinase 1 (SBK1) in the liver of HFD-fed mice is significantly higher than that of chow diet-fed mice. Next, we performed adenovirus-mediated SBK1 overexpression in a murine hepatoma cell line, mouse primary hepatocytes, and chow diet-fed mice liver. Activated insulin signaling, including Akt and forkhead box protein O1 phosphorylations, was augmented in SBK1-overexpressed cells and mice. Our data thus demonstrate that SBK1 is a new player of the insulin signaling pathway in the liver, which may have significant implication in T2DM treatment.

5:30 p.m. 

Speaker: Dr. Pengchao WANG (Post-doctoral Fellow)
Primary Supervisor: Professor Jiandong HUANG
Presentation Title: Development of a thermostable mRNA vaccine against COVID-19
Abstract: Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine (BNT162b2) showed that the lipid nanoparticle-formulated nucleoside-modified messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccine could effectively prevent laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 illness with an acceptable safety profile. However, the stringent requirement of storage and transportation with BNT162b2 has limited the expedited delivery and massive immunization worldwide. Besides, cold chain transportation is not universal in many COVID-19 epidemic areas, especially in developing countries. These drawbacks potentially apply to all current mRNA vaccines. In this project, we will use the yeast T-body VLP platform to develop a thermostable mRNA vaccine for COVID-19. We will first evaluate the delivery capability of the T-body system using in vitro and in vivo methods. After that, we will construct Ty1-mRNA VLP containing mRNA of the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 (TBVac) and investigate both cellular and humoral responses elicited by immunization of TBVac.

ALL ARE WELCOME

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