Lecture Series "Infection & Immunity" - Prof Rudi Beyaert - "MALT1-MEDIATED SIGNALING IN IMMUNE HOMEOSTASIS AND DISEASE"
22/03/2018 11:00 to 22/03/2018 14:00 (Europe/Luxembourg)
Esch/Alzette,
Luxembourg
Speaker
Prof Rudi BEYAERT is Full professor at Ghent University, Faculty of Sciences, Dept. Biomedical Molecular Biology, Associate Director of the Center for Inflammation Research at VIB, Principal Investigator of the Unit of Molecular Signal Transduction in Inflammation at Ghent University - VIB, Ghent, Belgium .
ABSTRACT
MALT1 is a signaling protein that plays a key role in innate and adaptive immunity as well as in certain malignancies. MALT1 is essential for nuclear factor KB(NF-KB) activation downstream of T and B cell receptors, and supports T/B-cell activation and proliferation. MALT1 hyperactivation is associated with autoimmunity and specific subtypes of B-cell lymphoma. For a long time, MALT1 was believed to function solely as a scaffold protein, providing a platform for the assembly of other NF- KB signaling proteins. However, this view changed dramatically when we and others found that MALT1 also has proteolytic activity that further fine-tunes signaling. MALT1 proteolytic activity is essential for T-cell activation and lymphomagenesis, suggesting that MALT1 is a promising therapeutic target for the treatment of autoimmunity and cancer. However, MALT1 is also involved in the development of natural Treg cells that keep the immune response in check, illustrating a potential risk of therapeutic targeting of MALT1 in the context of autoimmunity. In addition, MALT1 plays a role in the activation of other immune and non-immune cells. I will present our recent work on MALT1-mediated signaling in different cell types, its role in immunity and inflammation, and possible implications for therapeutic targeting.
SCHEDULE
11:00 - 12:00 : LECTURE
Lycée Technique d'Esch/Alzette - Salle de projection audiovisuelle
12:30 - 14:00 : 'meet & eat'
House of BioHealth
Room Françoise Barré-Sinoussi
Registration required for the 'Meet & Eat' - send us an email.
About the Lecture & Workshop series - Infection & Immunity
The LIH Lecture Series and Workshops in Infection and Immunity, supported by the FNR, are gathering internationally recognised speakers to address topics around Infection and Immunity. Twelve lectures will be organised in 2018, followed by workshops especially dedicated to early-stage researchers. Please find here the full programme for 2018.
Attendance to the lectures and workshops are free of charge. Should you be interested in registering for the workshops, please feel free to do so by sending us an email.