Invited by René-Marc Mège, Carien M. Niessen (Department Cell Biology of the Skin and CECAD Cologne, University Hospital Cologne, University of Cologne) will give a seminar entitled:
Biomechanical regulation of cell fate and position in epithelial barrier morphogenesis, renewal and disease
Our research: How epithelia coordinate cell and tissue structure with growth and metabolic activity to control morphogenesis and homeostasis of tissues is a fundamental question in biology. Altered regulation of epithelial cell/tissue architecture disturbs tissue homeostasis and epithelial barrier function and promotes not only aging but also cancer and a range of inflammatory diseases. The Niessen laboratory asks how key regulators of the cyto-architecture control the formation and maintenance of epithelial tissues. More specifically, the team addresses how cadherin mediated cell-cell adhesion and aPKC- controlled polarity integrate with metabolic insulin/IGF-1 signaling to control stem cell renewal and differentiation, tissue integrity and barrier function in a stratifying epithelium, the epidermis of skin. The Niessen laboratory also asks how external insults such as UV radiation present in the sun alter these processes and whether this results in skin barrier defects and diseases such as cancer.
