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Talk by Thomas Fath

Title: "The influence of the actin-associated protein Tropomyosin on membrane structure and function in cellular processes"
Occasion: SFB Special Seminar
Start: 03.07.2024 9 am
Location: CellNanOs, 38/201

About the speaker: Prof. Dr. Thomas Fath conducts research about Dementia at the Macquarie University Sydney, Australia

Abstract of the talk: The precise regulation of actin cytoskeleton organization within subcellular compartments of neurons is required for neuronal morphogenesis during development and neuronal function in the mature nervous system. Actin filament stability and turnover are regulated via a broad range of actin cytoskeleton-associated proteins, supporting intracellular transport machineries and morphological changes. One major family of actin-associated proteins, tropomyosins, has been identified as a master regulator of the functional diversity of actin filaments. The formation of actin/tropomyosin co-polymers with different tropomyosin isoforms, bestows the actin filaments with functionally distinct properties. This talk will review our current understanding of how functionally distinct actin filament populations regulate fundamental membrane-dependent processes in neuronal cells and the organisation and functional implications of the sub-membranous actin cytoskeleton. We will further discuss our recent findings of how the manipulation of actin filament populations, involved in postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptor trafficking, is sufficient to attenuate the propagation of pathological proteins in a model of Alzheimer’s disease in vitro and in vivo.