1st of April 2015, Chichley Hall
Martin Knight talked about the importance of the primary cilia for the cellular response to external and self applied mechanical forces. Cells will apply forces on themselves e.g. by pulling themselves flat against a hard substrate, or by responding to micrometric grooves by pulling themselves out along these. The primary cilia is an organelle that is present on most cells with a ultrastructure that is similar to a cillium used by e.g. sperm cells to propel themselves forward. The primary cilium lacks the central mictrotubule bundle and the motor proteins dynein & kinesin, and is specialised for signalling. Even very small changes in primary cilia structure or length will have profound effects on signalling. These changes in signalling will affect the ability of the cells to respond to mechanical, thermal or chemical challenges. Diseases that involve a malformation of the cilium are called ciliopathies.
Here Martin showed how one of the signalling pathways activated by the primary in cartilage, is hedgehog signalling.
More about Martin Knight: http://www.sems.qmul.ac.uk/staff/?m.m.knight
This talk was part of a workshop on "Cell Mechanobiology" organised by Rene de Borst, which took place April 1st and 2nd 2015, with support by the Royal Society at Chicheley Hall. for the programme details see: http://bio-mat-sketches-mor.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/cell-mechanobiology-workshop-1st-2nd.html