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SUMMARY:LMB Seminar: Separate yet connected: mitochondrial and nuclear gen
 ome stability - Agnel Sfeir
DTSTART:20240701T100000Z
DTEND:20240701T110000Z
UID:TALK213436@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Scientific Meetings Co-ordinator
DESCRIPTION:Chromosomes serve as the fundamental structural units of our g
 enome\, and understanding their proper management is crucial for decipheri
 ng disease mechanisms. As a trainee\, I delved into the mechanisms that sa
 feguard chromosome ends in mammalian cells\, laying the groundwork for my 
 future research endeavors. In my independent laboratory\, we have continue
 d to explore essential questions surrounding telomere maintenance and its 
 dysfunction\, particularly in relation to cancer. Our research has signifi
 cantly broadened in scope. For example\, we leveraged telomere dysfunction
  as a strategic tool to unravel the basis of error-prone DNA repair using 
 MMEJ. This approach led to the groundbreaking identification of Polθ\, an
  enzyme pivotal in driving mutagenic repair. Crucially\, we discovered tha
 t Polθ operates within a salvage pathway in tumors with defective homolog
 ous recombination\, positioning this polymerase as a promising therapeutic
  target for cancer treatment. Furthermore\, as an independent investigator
 \, I spearheaded a novel research direction focusing on the replication an
 d repair of mitochondrial genomes. This investigation has yielded signific
 ant insights\, including the elucidation of mechanisms by which toxic mito
 chondrial DNA (mtDNA) deletions arise. Additionally\, we identified a prev
 iously unrecognized retrograde signaling pathway that alerts the nucleus t
 o breaks in mtDNA\, highlighting a complex interplay between mitochondrial
  integrity and nuclear responses.
LOCATION:In person in the Max Perutz Lecture Theatre (CB2 0QH) and via Zoo
 m\, link:https://mrc-lmb-cam-ac-uk.zoom.us/j/91614790739?pwd=QncrTFFvNG1xW
 VZJOWhqL0lTcHVIQT09
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