[ November 24th ] Joint Invited Speaker Seminar Series for Future Medicine

November 15 2021

The "Joint Invited Speaker Seminar Series for Future Medicine" will be co-hosted by Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) GSMSE and International Research Center for Medical Sciences (IRCMS). It will run from July 2021 to Novermber  2021, with lectures given by scientists who are affiliated with IRCMS or in collaboration with researchers at IRCMS. The lectures will be given three times a month, in English, and by leading scientists in the relevant research field.

Date: November 24th (Wednesday)

Time: 10:00-

           *  Zoom online seminar

We welcome participants from all over the world.

If you are interested, please send an email to ircms@jimu.kumamoto-u.ac.jp

Speaker:  Mukoyama Yosuke, Ph.D.

　　　     Senior Investigator, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes

                Visiting professor, IRCMS at Kumamoto University

Title: What controls CNS-specific vascular structure?

Abstract:

The Central Nervous System (CNS) is an immune privileged organ, which is protected
from the entry of pathogens and circulating immune cells, by the CNS-specific unique
vascular structure: (i) a physical blood-brain barrier (BBB) maintained by tight junctions
between endothelial cells (ECs), pericytes, and astrocyte endfeet processes, and (ii) a
lack of lymphatic vessels in the CNS parenchyma allowing no direct physical connection
with the lymph nodes and immune system. We seek to understand both the link
between the BBB formation and the lymphatic avascularity, and the molecular
mechanisms that control these unique properties of CNS ECs. More specifically, we
focus on Prospero Homeobox 1 (Prox1) gene, a key transcription factor in lymphatic EC
development, which is NOT expressed in CNS ECs, although a temporal Prox1
expression is detectable in blood ECs of peripheral tissues to ensure their lymphatic EC
differentiation potential. Preliminary results to study CNS EC-specific regulation of
Prox1 expression will be discussed.

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