SCAN: Implications of fucosyltransferases in the glycobiology of neuroscience and malignancy
Julia Costa, Glycobiology Lab
| When |
21 Apr, 2010
from
12:00 pm to 01:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Where | Auditorium |
| Add event to your calendar |
iCal
|
SCAN Seminar
Title: Implications of fucosyltransferases in the glycobiology of neuroscience and malignancy
Speaker: Julia Costa
Affiliation: Glycobiology Lab
Abstract:
Fucosyltransferases transfer fucose from GDP-Fucose onto several acceptors, such as the N- or O-linked glycans from glycoproteins, and their products include the fucosylated carbohydrate adhesion determinants of the Lewis type. The fucosyltransferases are glycosyltransferases that are localized in the Golgi apparatus of mammalian cells.
The fucosylated glycans play relevant functional roles in several biological processes. For example, in the central nervous system a fucosylated structure is associated with development, and it is important for neuron adhesion and neurite outgrowth. On the other hand, their expression is deregulated in several types of cancer and they underlie cell adhesion events associated with metastases formation.
The implications of fucosyltransferases and fucosylated glycans in the glycobiology of neuroscience and malignancy will be presented.
Applications on diagnostics and in the development of medicines will be discussed.
