Date: Friday, 5 November 2021

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

Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

5:00 p.m.

Speaker: Miss Wan XU (MPhil candidate)
Primary Supervisor: Prof. Ren SUN
Presentation Title: High-resolution profiles of dynamic antibody responses to SARS-CoV-2 and autoantigens
Abstract: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) elicits antibody responses in most patients within three weeks of symptom onset. While SARS-CoV-2 infection results in protective antibodies, other potential pathogenic antibodies can also be generated, resulting in pathogenic inflammatory responses in both the acute phase and long COVID-19. In this project, we established a sequence-linked immunosorbent assay (SLISA) to comprehensively investigate the target specificity and temporal dynamics of antibody responses in COVID-19 patients against SARS-CoV-2 on the genomic scale. Furthermore, by examining antibody response to 1164 known autoantigens, we found that COVID-19 induced antibodies against cellular proteins related to neurological, immunological, and coagulation functions. Some autoantibodies can stimulate T cells in a CD3-dependent manner. Using SLISA, we demonstrated the continuous change in antibody responses against viral- and auto-antigens during the acute and convalescent phases of COVID-19. The platform can be broadly applicable to systematically investigating antibody responses in many physiological and pathological conditions.

5:30 p.m. 

Speaker: Miss Xiaozhuo KANG (MPhil candidate)
Primary Supervisor: Dr. Chi Ping CHAN
Presentation Title: A novel CREBH target protein FACI is involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis
Abstract: CREBH is a transcriptional factor that governs lipid and glucose metabolism. FACI is a novel CREBH target found by mRNA profile screening of WT and CREBH knockout mice. In CREBH KO mice, FACI expression is significantly down-regulated. Similar to CREBH, FACI is also a liver and small intestine-specific protein yet with unknown function. Analysis of transcriptional regulation of FACI revealed that apart from CREBH, FACI transcription is also upregulated by SREBP1a, SREBP3a, CREB and HNF4α. This project aims to investigate the role of FACI in cell and animal models. Bioid-MS and AP-MS result unveiled a group of potential interactors of FACI including AP2 complex subunit μ2, Epsin 3 and NUMB, which are involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis (CME). Fluorescent imaging using total internal reflection fluorescent microscopy (TIRF) also demonstrated colocalization of mEmerald-tagged FACI with clathrin, AP2 complex, and other CME adaptor proteins on plasma membrane, indicating that FACI could participate in the CME process. Uptake assays in knockout and overexpression cell lines of FACI showed that FACI may specifically affect the uptake of LDL receptors through CME. This project may provide a new target of interest in studying lipid metabolism and transportation.

ALL ARE WELCOME

Should you have any enquiries, please feel free to contact Miss Cynthia Cheung at 3917 9748.