Laboratory of Molecular Immunology, Institute of Molecular Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, College of Medicine, Taiwan
We have first discovered tumor suppressor WWOX, independently with two other groups, in 2000. Although it was originally designated as a tumor suppressor, WWOX/Wwox deficiency in the newborns of humans, mice and rats do not exhibit spontaneous tumor formation. Indeed, WWOX protein exhibits a plethora of physiological functions, including control of cancer growth and neural development and degeneration, participation of pY33-WWOX in apoptosis and bubbling cell death, integration with multiple signaling networks, and regulation of metabolism and immune cell differentiation. For example, exogenous complement C1q-mediated death of neuroblastoma and prostate cancer cells requires WWOX as an adaptor for death signaling. This type of cancer suppression is antibody-independent and a non-inflammatory action of C1q. Most recently, we have shown that during forced maturation, phorbol and calcium ionophore induce up regulation of WWOX phosphorylation at Ser14 in leukemia T cells. Furthermore, during cancer progression and neurodegeneration in vivo, target organs tend to have pS14-WWOX up regulation. Suppression of pS14-WWOX expression by Zfra (zinc finger-like protein that regulates apoptosis) results in blocking cancer growth and restoration of memory loss during neurodegeneration. The observations suggest that converting anticancer pY33-WWOX to pS14-WWOX renders enhancement of cancer growth and metastasis and progression of neuro degeneration.
Biography:
Dr. Nan-Shan Chang is currently the Distinguished Professor of the Molecular Medicine Institute, National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan, and the Adjunct Professor with the SUNY Upstate Medical University and the NYS Institute for Basic Research in Developmental Disabilities, New York. He is most noted for his discovery of tumor suppressor WWOX in 2000. Recent Awards: Breast cancer and neurofibromatosis research awards from the Department of Defense, USA, in 2008 and 2010; Distinguished Professor Award 2010, 2013, 2016 from NCKU; Distinguished Scientist Award 2011 from the Society of Experimental Biology & Medicine, USA.
Dept. of Cell Research & Immunology, Tel Aviv University, Israel
Polyclonal serum consists of vast collections of antibodies. The spectrum of antibody specificities is dynamic and varies with age, physiology, and exposure to pathological insults. The complete repertoire of antibody specificities in blood, the IgOme, is therefore an extraordinarily rich source of information–a molecular record of previous encounters as well as a status report of current immune activity. The ability to profile antibody specificities of polyclonal serum at exceptionally high resolution has been an important and serious challenge which can now be met. Here we describe “Deep Panning” a methodology that merges the flexibility of combinatorial phage display peptide libraries with the power of Next Generation Sequencing to enable high resolution / high-throughput interrogation of the IgOme.
Biography:
Prof. Jonathan M. Gershoni completed his BSc in Biology and PhD in Biochemistry at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He then did Post-doctoral training with Prof. George E. Palade at Yale School of Medicine where he began his research on the interplay of viruses and their targets and the defense mechanisms of the immune system. Returning to Israel in 1983 he joined the Department of Biophysics at the Weizmann Institute of Science where he continued his study of the molecular events that govern viral infection. He subsequently joined the Laboratory of Tumor Cell Biology at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, MD to work with Dr. Robert C. Gallo on developing new approaches to AIDS therapy and prevention. In 1990 he returned to Israel as one of the founders of the new Department of Cell Research and Immunology at Tel Aviv University where he has served as chairman (2003-2006). Over the last decade Prof. Gershoni has focused on developing new methods for the rational design of vaccines to such pandemic diseases as AIDS, Hepatitis C, influenza and SARS. He continues to investigate the humoral response towards viral pathogens;
developing computational methods to profile the IgOme-the complete repertoire of antibodies in polyclonal sera, and developing novel approaches for epitope based vaccines and next generation diagnostics.
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