ABOUT THE LECTURE:
Berardinelli-Seip Congenital Lipodystrophy type 2 (BSCL2) is the most severe form of human lipodystrophy and is caused by loss-of-function mutations in the BSCL2/seipin gene. Seipin is an integral membrane protein of the endoplasmic reticulum and has a conserved function in the formation of lipid droplets (LDs). Mechanisms by which Seipin function remain unclear. In this seminar, I will present genetic and biochemical evidence that link Seipin function with regulating phosphatidic acid (PA) levels, and describe our newly solved structure of Seipin revealing a PA lipid binding fold. Moreover, our results in vitro and in vivo further demonstrate that Seipin functions to inhibit the activity of glycerol-3-phosphate acyltransferases (GPATs) to control the level of PA on the ER. Collectively, these data suggest that Seipin functions to maintain phospholipid homeostasis of the ER, and that GPAT inhibitors may be used to treat BSCL2.
HOST:
Prof David Lawrence Silver
Professor and Deputy Programme Director
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme
Duke-NUS Medical School
CO-HOST:
Dr Sun Lei
Associate Professor
Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disorders Programme
Duke-NUS Medical School
VENUE:
Duke-NUS Medical School
Amphitheatre, Level 2
CONTACT PERSON:
Ms Serene Wie, Duke-NUS Research Affairs Department
Email: serene.wie@duke-nus.edu.sg
Date and Time
05 Nov 2019 @ 12:00 - 05 Nov 2019 @ 13:00
Speaker
Prof Hongyuan Robert Yang
Professor
School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences
The University of New South Wales
Dr. Hongyuan (Robert) Yang obtained his PhD from Columbia University and is currently a professor at the School of Biotechnology and Biomolecular Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia and a senior research fellow of the NHMRC. His lab has made major contributions to the study of lipid storage and trafficking in eukaryotic cells and animals, particularly the elucidation of the function and structure of Seipin, and function of oxysterol binding proteins. His work has been published in high impact journals such as Science, Molecular Cell, Developmental Cell, J Cell Biol., Nature Comms, Diabetes and Cell Reports etc.