PBIO SEMINAR SERIES

Cytoskeletal regulation by the adenomatous polyposis coli protein in interphase and mitosis

Wednesday - October 26, 2005
05-06 SEMINAR SERIES

Inke Näthke
University of Dundee
Speaker's website

Host: Linda Wordeman

Mutations in the adenomatous polyposis coli protein (APC) are common to most colonic tumours. One well-characterised function of the APC protein is its ability to support the assembly of a protein complex that regulates the degradation of ?-catenin in a Wnt-regulated manner. In addition, APC is an important regulator of the cytoskeleton. Inactivating APC in cells leads to changes in cell migration, but also disrupts mitotic spindles and causes defects in cell division. I will provide an overview of our work that investigates the effects of APC on the cytoskeleton and will also describe some of our more recent experiments that aim to establish the relationship between the interaction of APC with the cytoskeleton and its role in regulating ?-catenin to illustrate how these functions of APC may contribute to its role in the early stages of colon cancer.