Date: 13 December 2022 (Tuesday)

Time: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Venue: Cheung Kung Hai Lecture Theatre 3, G/F, William M.W. Mong Block, 21 Sassoon Road

5:00 p.m.

Presenter: Mr. Kai Ching LAM, MPhil candidate
Primary Supervisor: Dr. Sung Chul KWON
Presentation Title: Single-nucleotide resolution mapping of RNA-targeting Cas13 cleavage sites
Abstract: The technology of CRISPR-Cas systems have grown exponentially in recent years. Lately, research around Cas13 have gained tractions because of its RNA-targeting capability. Cas13 has since been applied in transcriptome engineering and in vitro diagnostics based on its capability to cleave both target and nearby RNAs. However, there are different reports showing specific RNA knockdown and severe in vivo collateral activity respectively. Due to the lack of understanding of the precise biochemical properties of Cas13, it is unclear how two seemingly opposite phenomenon were observed. Here, we show that RfxCas13d (CasRx) specifically recognizes and cleaves di-U sites in RNA. We demonstrate in a controlled in vitro assay that CasRx could cleave RNA in both directions with 20 nucleotides of minimal cleavage distance. Furthermore, we apply Illumina-based 5′-hydroxyl RNA sequencing to determine the cleavage site in vivo and reveal CasRx-driven cleavage patterns. In the ongoing effort, we aim to develop RNA-oriented technology and methodologies based on the new-found knowledge.

5:30 p.m.

Presenter: Mr. Alex Chung Ming WU, MPhil candidate
Primary Supervisor: Dr. Yick Pang CHING
Presentation Title: Salt-inducible Kinase 2: A potential metastasis suppressor in hepatocellular carcinoma
Abstract: Salt-inducible Kinase 2 (SIK2), a member of the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) family, is reported to participate in a wide range of molecular pathways such as the PI3K/Akt and LKB1-HDAC pathways that are vital to cell proliferation and migration in tumours including breast, ovarian and gastric cancers. SIK2 has recently been identified as a centrosomal kinase, which plays an important role in centrosome overamplification. While SIK2 emerges to be an important kinase in carcinogenesis, the function of SIK2 in liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma HCC) has not yet been well studied. Here we showed that knocking out SIK2 would hinder the proliferation while drastically promote migration of HCC. Loss of SIK2 also affect the resistance of HCC cells towards some common cancer drugs such as cisplatin and doxorubicin. With our current result, we hypothesize that SIK2 might be a potential metastasis suppressor in HCC.

ALL ARE WELCOME

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