Sex differences in organ plasticity

Date

Mar 21, 2019

Time

11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Speaker

Irene Miguel-Aliaga

Affiliation

MRC London Institute of Medical Sciences, Imperial College London, London, UK

Series

MPI-CBG Thursday Seminar

Language

en

Main Topic

Biologie

Other Topics

Biologie

Host

Jochen Rink

Description

Internal organs constantly exchange signals, and can respond with profound anatomical and functional transformations, even in fully developed organisms. Such organ plasticity results from a need to integrate both environmental information and internal state, and is key to maintaining homeostasis and adapting to challenges. We seek to identify the mechanisms by which organs sense and respond to change: the molecules, cellular events and physiological adaptations involved. Some of our recent work has explored the physiological plasticity of the intestinal epithelium using Drosophila and mice, focusing on both stem cells and one their progeny: the digestive/absorptive enterocytes. Our work has revealed unexpected sexual dimorphisms, as well as intestinal contributions to reproductive success. I will discuss some of this work, and will likely present unpublished findings on 1) new hormonal and neuronal mechanisms by which gonads make gut cells sexually dimorphic for “selfish” reasons, and/or 2) a novel intestinal micronutrient sensor that controls systemic food intake and growth rate by activating TOR signalling.

Last modified: Mar 22, 2019, 1:05:55 AM