BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//Talks.cam//talks.cam.ac.uk//
X-WR-CALNAME:Talks.cam
BEGIN:VEVENT
SUMMARY:Are mammary epithelial cells specialised immune cells? - Professor
  Christine Watson\, Department of Pathology
DTSTART:20120118T123000Z
DTEND:20120118T133000Z
UID:TALK35121@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Sue Griffin
DESCRIPTION:Mammary gland development occurs primarily in the adult. Durin
 g pregnancy a new lineage\, the alveolar epithelial cell\, appears. These 
 cells differentiate to produce milk during lactation and are removed in a 
 programme of cell death coupled with tissue remodelling when lactation cea
 ses. We are interested in two aspects of this lineage:  how these cells ar
 ise from progenitors and the mechanism by which they are induced to underg
 o cell death.\n\nI will discuss our recent work where we have shown that t
 he IL-4/IL-13/Stat6 pathway is a critical regulator of alveologenesis. We 
 have identified a novel gene that is a transcriptional target of Stat6 and
  is a master regulator of lineage commitment. Interestingly\, ablation of 
 this gene can rescue Gata-3 deficiency. During involution\, Stat3 is essen
 tial for initiating cell death by a lysosomal-mediated pathway. Furthermor
 e\, Stat3 mediates an inflammatory and acute phase response which is assoc
 iated with alternatively activated macrophages. Thus mammary epithelial ce
 lls can acquire characteristics of immune cells and this may reflect their
  origin.\n
LOCATION:Lecture Theatre\, Department of Pathology\, Tennis Court Road
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR