Speaker: Prof Johannes von Lintig, Professor of Pharmacology, Director visible Science training application, Case Western Reserve institution, Cleveland, USATitle of talk: "Molecular accessories affecting ocular carotenoid and retinoid homeostasis"Date and time: Monday 7th November, 1300-1400hrs
Zoom hyperlink: please refer to the flyers despatched out by the use of e-mail or contact Yasmin.ibrahim@ncl.ac.uk for the hyperlink.
Synopsis:Carotenoids are a category of dietary lipids synthesized via plant life, fungi, and micro organism. The vibrant pigments have an effect on a wealthy diversity of physiological capabilities in nature and are a good suggestion for human fitness, serving as antioxidants in lipophilic environments and blue gentle filters in the macula of human retina. Some carotenoids additionally serve as precursors retinoids (vitamin A and its metabolites). Retinoids exert essential capabilities in mammalian biology as hormone-like signalling molecules and chromophore of visible pigments. To set up and maintain these methods, animals have to acquire carotenoids from the weight-reduction plan, transport them, and metabolize them to organic lively retinoids. during the past decades, a whole lot development has been made in opting for the genes encoding proteins that mediate the transport and enzymatic transformations of carotenoids and their retinoid metabolites. Mutations in these genes impa ir carotenoid and retinoid metabolism and set off a number of pathologies, together with blinding diseases. My seminar will summarize this advancement and will introduce concerned proteins, including the homeostatic law of their actions. predominant topics are the position of the membrane receptor STRA6 in ocular vitamin A uptake homeostasis as well as the function of the carotenoid cleavage dioxygenase BCO2 and the GRAM area-containing proteins in ocular carotenoid homeostasis.
Biography:I got my PhD degree from the biology department of the school of Freiburg (Germany) in 1993. As post-doctoral fellow, I approached the field of carotenoid analysis by way of getting to know the plant biosynthetic pathway of those pigments. in this assignment, we employed genetic engineering to enhance the β-carotene content material of rice to fight nutritional vitamin A deficiency, an effort that finally succeeded in the establishment of 'Golden Rice'. via this journey, I became privy to how little became known in regards to the biochemical and molecular foundation of carotenoid metabolism in humans at that time. In 1998, I all started my own group to bridge this competencies gap and recognized the first genes dedicated to carotenoid metabolism in animals. In 2008, I moved my laboratory from Germany to Case Western Reserve school in Cleveland, u.s.A., and have been a member of the CWRU medical school group for the reason that then. At CWRU, I even have correctly pe rsevered and improved my research program which has been perpetually funded by way of the NIH. As a proud mentor to the subsequent generation of scientists, I have nucleated and fostered the careers of my students and postdocs in industry and academia. Nationally and internationally, I support form my research field as visitor editor of special issues on carotenoids, cochair and chair of the Gordon research conference on Carotenoids, and as President of the international Carotenoid Society.
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