Integrated brain scinece III

Animal cells organize into precisely ordered structures, called tissues or organs. Pioneering studies, conducted in the early to middle 1900s, revealed that tissues can be dissociated into single cells by various biochemical treatments, and the dissociated cells, when properly cultured, can self-assemble and restore the original tissue-like structures. These early findings suggested that cells autonomously adhere to each other via some cell surface molecules. After long struggles for seeking such molecules, a molecule, named “cadherin”, was eventually identified in the early 1980s. Since then, our understanding of how multicellular structures form has dramatically advanced. Nowadays, it is known that cadherins constitute a gene superfamily comprising more than 100 members, and play diverse roles in cell-cell interactions. Furthermore, it is widely recognized that cadherin is important not only for stable adhesion between cells, but also for dynamic rearrangement of them, which is required for embryonic morphogenesis and cancer invasion. Cadherin does not work alone; it cooperates with a number of cytoplasmic proteins, including actin filaments. This molecular cooperation makes cadherin-mediated adhesion dynamic or plastic, and in turn regulates a number of multicellular processes involved in tissue pattering. I will overview these findings, as well as early stories about cadherin discovery.

 

Remote lecuture:

NIG 2F Library Seminar room

Hayama Library 3F 2ndTV Conference room