Topic: The Dark Side of DNA-Immune and Autoimmune Responses to Cytosolic DNA

Speaker: Dr. Zhijian James Chen

                 Howard Hughes Medical Institute

                 Department of Molecular Biology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

Time: 10:00-11:00, Jan 12th (Thur.), 2017

Location: D326, Medical Science Building

Host: Dr. Wenwen Zeng

Abstract:

The presence of DNA in the cytoplasm is a danger signal that alerts the host immune system to eliminate microbial infections, but inappropriate activation of this pathway by self DNA can also lead to autoimmune diseases such as lupus. My talk will focus on our recent discoveries of cGAS as an innate immune sensor for cytosolic DNA, and of cyclic GMP-AMP (cGAMP) as a novel second messenger that triggers the production of type-I interferons and other inflammatory cytokines. I will also discuss the roles of the cGAS pathway in autoimmune diseases and cancer immunotherapy.