[July 25] 51st IRCMS Seminar

July 8 2019

We would like to inform you that the 51st IRCMS Seminar has been scheduled as below. We would be pleased to see many of you participating in the seminar.

Date       : July 25, 2019 (Thursday)
Time　    : 16:00-17:00
Venue    : IRCMS 1F Meeting Lounge　
Speaker : Masanori Nakayama, Ph.D.
                Group Leader
                Laboratory for Cell Polarity and Organogenesis
                Max-Planck-Institute for Heart and Lung Research
                (Visiting Associate Prof. IRCMS)

Tilte       : Light and dark sides of aPKC in endothelial cells

Abstract:
The goal of our study is to develop novel therapeutic strategies for various diseases by revealing the fundamental biologic principles with strong focus on the vasculature. Especially, we are interested in cell polarity regulators and has revealed their functions in vascular health and diseases.

The polarity protein atypical protein kinase C lambda/iota (aPKCl) is an oncogene and is associated with cell proliferation. Recently, we have found that aPKCl is the critical factor for the malignant vascular sarcoma, angiosarcoma. aPKC controls c-Myc expression and PD-L1 expression via phosphorylation of the DNA binding domain of forkhead box O (FoxO) transcription factors, gatekeepers of endothelial growth. FoxOs phosphorylation by aPKC and aPKC expression correlates with poor patient prognosis. Conversely, aPKC inhibition reduces c-Myc expression, PD-L1 expression and proliferation of angiosarcoma cells. Our findings may provide a new therapeutic strategy for treatment of malignant cancers, such as angiosarcoma.