The Institute Colloquium: Rho GTPases: Signalling in cell adhesion and migration
Date
Monday, March 4, 2013 16:30 - 17:30
Speaker
Anne Ridley (King's College London)
Location
Raiffeisen Lecture Hall, Central Building
Series
Colloquium
Tags
Institute Colloquium
Contact
In multicellular organisms, cells are constantly moving from one place to another. This cell migration is essential during development of the organism as well as maintenance of tissues in the adult. For example, cells of the immune system migrate out of the blood stream to fight infections and help repair wounds. In humans, cell migration also contributes to the development of cancer. During cancer progression, cancer cells invade and migrate through the tissues and enter and then exit the blood stream to form secondary tumors, known as metastases. We are investigating how cancer cells attach to the endothelial cells lining blood vessels, with the long term goal of inhibiting cancer metastasis. I will describe how we have identified specific proteins inside cells and on the surface of cells that are needed for cancer cells to interact with endothelial cells, and how reducing the expression of these proteins can decrease cancer metastasis.