Join Professor Elizabeth Chen of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center for a research seminar as part of the Force Talk series entitled "Mechanical Interactions at the Fusogenic Synapse".

Abstract

Cell-cell fusion is a fundamental process in the development and physiology of multicellular organisms. Starting from forward genetic screens in Drosophila, the Chen lab discovered the asymmetric fusogenic synapse, where a cell projects actin-propelled and mechanically stiff membrane protrusions into its fusion partner and the latter mounts mechanosensory responses to increase cortical tension. The interplay between the invasive and resistant forces from the two fusion partners brings the apposing cell membranes into close proximity for fusogen engagement and subsequent membrane merger. While studying the molecular and cellular events at the fusogenic synapse, the Chen lab uncovered novel mechanisms underlying actin polymerization dynamics, actin bundling, and mechanotransduction. Extending from their studies of Drosophila muscle, the Chen lab elucidated the molecular determinants and cellular architecture of the myoblast fusogenic synapse in zebrafish and mice, and reconstituted cell-cell fusion in non-muscle cell lines. These analyses have revealed an evolutionarily conserved and general role for invasive membrane protrusions in various cell-cell fusion events, ranging from insects to mammals and from myoblasts to non-muscle cells. 

Speaker

Dr Chen received her undergraduate degree in Biology from Peking University in 1990. After spending two years in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at UCLA, she moved to the Developmental Biology Department at Stanford University and obtained her PhD degree in 1998. Her graduate research in Bruce Baker’s laboratory focused on pattern formation in Drosophila imaginal discs. She was a Helen Hay Whitney postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Eric Olson at UT Southwestern Medical Center, where she initiated an independent project investigating the mechanisms underlying cell-cell fusion. In 2004, Dr Chen joined the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine as an Assistant Professor and was promoted to a Full Professor in 2016. Her lab has discovered the asymmetric fusogenic synapse that mediates a variety of cell-cell fusion events. Dr Chen moved back to UT Southwestern in 2016, where she continues to use a multifaceted approach including genetics, cell biology, biochemistry and biophysics to address major unanswered questions in cell-cell fusion using organisms ranging from insects to mammals.

Mechanics of Life Leverhulme DSP Force Talks Series

Force Talks is a seminar series hosted by the Mechanics of Life Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme at King's College London. We are honoured to welcome world leaders in mechanobiology.

The series aims to showcase the rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field of mechanobiology and mechanical forces. We welcome those from academia and industry to attend and take part in the discussions.

The programme is funded by the Leverhulme Trust doctoral scholarship grant "Understanding the mechanics of life".

Learn more about the Mechanics of Life Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme

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