News

Papers published

Clark, S.J., Perveen, R., Hakobyan, S., Morgan, B.P., Sim, R.B., Bishop, P.N. & Day A.J. (2010).  Impaired binding of age-related macular degeneration-associated complement factor H 402H allotype to Bruch’s membrane in human retina. J. Biol. Chem. 285, 30192-30202.

Wolny, P.M., Banerji, S., Gounon, C., Brisson, A.R., Day, A.J., Jackson, D.G. & Richter, R.P.(2010) Analysis of CD44-hyaluronan interactions in an artificial membrane system: insights into the distinct binding properties of high and low molecular weight hyaluronan. J. Biol. Chem. 285, 30170-30180.

Tan, K.T., Baildam, A.D., Juma, A., Day, A.J., Milner, C.M. & Bayat, A. Hyaluronan. (2011). TSG-6 and inter-αλπηα-inhibitor in periprosthetic breast capsules: reduced levels of free hyaluronan and TSG-6 experssion in contracted capsules. Aesthetic Surgery Journal (in press).

Ciani, B, Bjelic, S, Honnappa, S, Jawhari, H, Jaussi, R, Payapilly, A, Jowitt, T, Steinmetz, MO and Kammerer, RA(2010) Molecular insights into coiled-coil oligomerization state specificity. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA (in press.).

Press Coverage

It is fantastic when some of the work within the Centre receives media attention, and we are delighted that work from Tony Day's lab was released to the press last week. The title of the press release is "Scientists discover new cause of blindness". See uom/about

Grant news

Mark Travis Co-applicant on BBSRC Diet and Health Research and Industry Club (DRINC) grant with Prof. Fiona Powrie (University of Oxford) and Prof. Glenn Gibson (University of Reading). Dendritic cell subsets in the maintanence of gut health and response to bioactives. 2010-2013

Cay Kielty MRC-BHF Strategic Award with Canfield, Amaya, Whetton, Merry, Neyses £742,000. Cell-matrix biology of the mesenchymal progenitor cell niche.

Poster presentations at international conferences

Joanna Klementowicz

The 14th International Congress of Immunology 2010 in Kobe, Japan.  αvβ8 integrin-mediated TGF-β activation by dendritic cells is required for the development of chronic gastrointestinal parasite infection. Joanna received a special travel award for this congress from British Society of Immunology.

Ceri Harrop

20th Annual Congress of the European Respiratory Society in Barcelona.

Cross talk between human lung fibroblasts and human bronchial epithelial cells regulates mucin production in vitro

Invited seminars and conference talks

Andrew Gilmore

Cell Adhesion and Stress Fibres symposium, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 28th August.

Cell/ECM interactions control the assembly of a p38MAPK signalling scaffold at mitochondria

Ceri Harrop

BA Festival of Science on behalf of Asthma UK, 17th September. Novel studies into asthma pathology

Sumaira Hasnain

MRC, Mill Hill, London, 17th September The mucus barrier: immune response against gastrointestinal nematodes

Tom Jowitt

19th International AUC conference, Nottingham, 21st September. Using novel crystallohydrodynamic techniques to help understand macromolecular assembly

Claudia Wellbrock

16th  European Society for Pigment Cell Research (ESPCR) Wellcome Trust Conference Centre, Wellcome Trust Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge, UK, 4th-7th September. A melanoma specific function of beta-catenin

Get Connected!

The Centre held its first international conference on ECM and cell adhesion, organised by PhD students for PhD students and postdocs, earlier in the month. So, a massive congratulations and thanks to Chloe Yeung, Doug Dyer, Louise Kung and Luke Bonser for making the conference such a success. There was overwhelming positive feedback on the meeting, reflecting their hard work and dedication to organising a great meeting.
Talks

Clair Baldock The structure of collagen VI microfibrils and the role of metal‐ions in their conformation and assembly

Peter Bell The secretion of mutant V194D matrillin‐3 is unaffected by the knock‐out of matrillin‐1 in a mouse model of multiple epiphyseal dysplasia

Pat Caswell Integrin trafficking controls a RhoGTPase signalling switch to promote extension of pseudopods as cells migrate in 3D

Julia Cheung The role of beta1 integrin in mammary gland ductal morphogenesis

Fiona Foster Focal Adhesion Kinase in Breast Cancer Initiation

Sumaira Hasnain Mucins are critical components during the rejection of the enteric nematode ‘Trichuris muris’

Jon Humphries Proteomic analysis of the dynamics of integrin adhesion receptor signalling

Susan Taylor Col4a1 missense mutation reveals a role for a novel epithelium in preventing tendon adhesions

Ceri Harrop gave an enthusiastic presentation on public engagement work organised by the centre and showed the delegates a taster of how you could make your research easier to relay to the public.

Faculty Research Symposium

It is brilliant that research from the Centre was amongst the best in the Faculty this year. Not only were 4 of the 9 postgrad + postdoc talks from the Centre, but we also won both of the prizes. Congratulations to Richard Berry for winning the best postgraduate talk and to Natalia Sanchez-Soriano for winning the best postdoc talk. Also, congratulations to Joe Robertson for winning the 1st prize of the Lay Writing Competition.

Talks

Richard Berry

Role of dimerization and substrate exclusion in the regulation of bone morphogenetic protein-1 and mammalian tolloid

Jon Humphries

Proteomic analysis of integrin-associated complexes identifies RCC2 as a dualregulator of Rac1 and Arf6

Natalia Sanchez-Soriano

Mouse ACF7 and Drosophila Short stop modulate filopodia formation and microtubule organisation during neuronal growth

Sumaira Hasnain

Deficiency of the Muc2 mucin plays a significant role in intestinal parasite expulsion

New Staff

We're please to welcome new PhD students and postdocs to the Centre:

Holly Birchenough, PhD student, Day lab.

Biophysical characterisation of TSG-6-ligand interactions: using DPI to investigate the interactome of a multi-functional inflammatory mediator

Anna Chapman, postdoc , Wellbrock lab.

In a joint project with Adam Hurlstone, she will establish (life) imaging of human melanoma cell xenotransplants in zebrafish as alternative for mouse tail vein injections, and set up protocols for life imaging of neural crest and melanoblast migration in zebrafish.

Sarah Edwards,

PhD student, Briggs lab.

The role of oxidative stress in growth plate biology

Paulina Layseca, PhD student, Streuli lab.  How integrin-mediated adhesion controls cell function in breast epithelia

Daniel Ng, PhD Student, Humphries lab. Investigating the dynamics of focal adhesion disassembly

Nicholas Rooney, PhD Student, Streuli lab. Investigating the role of Integrin Linked Kinase in mammary epithelial cell differentiation and polarity

Ruth Steer, PhD student, Kielty lab. LTBP-1/latent TGFbeta storage with fibrillin microfibrils

Jennifer Thompson, PhD student, Day lab. Development of protocols for the biomanufacture of TSG-6 - a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of bone loss

From our poet, Tim Hardingham

"GAGs: Ace in the Pack of Surprises", published in the editorial pages of Matrix Biology. 29, 410.

At the last ever PG Gordon, the secret of GAGs was revealed.

It seems that they came from a distant terrain and crept into our genome unseen.

By not being clear about what code was where, scientists gave them barely a thought.

So GAGs langoured low, unfashionably slow, with an impact close to nought.

However! When science's easy tasks were all over and there was only left tough nuts to crack.

In strode the brave GAG code breakers, – boom boom! they knew they were on the right track.

With a fearless and bold disposition and no thought of glory or fame, they deciphered GAGs’ enigmatic code and uncovered the clue to the game.

It lay in a simple riddle, how long is a piece of string and if you put on it a sulphated bonnet, how cute it can look and can sing.

So GAGs sing on, in song after song and harmonise at multiple levels

As they trill to the tune and croon to the moon and choreograph cell-matrix signals.

The lesson is clear, don't ignore what's there, take it and give it some time.

It may look like a turd, but if it sings like a bird, it's something to check and refine, for it could be a GAG with a mystery tag… and you know that would be sublime.

So lets finish the dream now we're serene and thinking of Nobel Prizes, for one day we all know GAG coding will show its biology's ace in the pack of surprises