The role of peptidoglycan in host-microbe interactions
Ivo Boneca , Institut Pasteur
| When |
12 Sep, 2008
from
12:00 pm to 01:00 pm |
|---|---|
| Where | ITQB Auditorium |
| Add event to your calendar |
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Title: The role of peptidoglycan in host-microbe interactions
Speaker: Ivo Boneca
Affiliation: INSERM and Institut Pasteur, Paris
Host: Alumni ITQB
Abstract
Peptidoglycan is a major and unique component of the bacterial cell wall which serves an essential role in cell shape and resistance to internal tugor pressure. The unique structure of bacterial peptidoglycan is explored by eukaryotes to sense the presence of bacteria. In mammals, sensing of peptidoglycan is complished by intracellular innate immune receptors, Nod1 and Nod2. These receptors detect peptidoglycan fragments that result from the natural turnover of the cell wall during cell growth and division. Hence, bacteria have developped mechanisms to modulate the host Nod-dependent response in both normal host-flora and host-pathogen intearactions. In this talk we will address several examples in which peptidoglycan metabolism is central for the host-microbe interaction such as Neisseria meningitidis and Listeria monocytogenes.
Ivo Boneca, INSERM investigator and leader of the group "Biology and Genetics of Bacterial Cell Wall" at the Pasteur Institut, is a former ITQB PhD Student. Ivo Boneca worked under the supervision of Prof. Hermínia de Lencastre and Prof. Alexander Tomasz, integrating the Laboratory of Molecular Genetics. He finished his PhD in Biology in 2000.
