Dr. Luc Sabourin, (Senior Scientist, Cancer Therapeutics, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Associate Professor, Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa) will be delivering a talk entitled “The Ste20-like kinase: A critical signaling
hub regulating cell invasion and tumor progression”.

Hosted by the Golshani Lab.

Abstract:
Cell migration and invasion are crucial for many biological processes including
morphogenesis, wound repair and cancer progression. Cell motility is tightly
regulated by extracellular matrix signaling that ultimately controls cytosolic
remodeling and cell movement. We have shown that the Ste20-like kinase SLK is
required for cell motility downstream of the focal adhesion kinase complex.
In addition to haptotaxis, SLK is necessary for HER2-driven chemotaxis and
invasion. SLK regulates cell migration through the phosphorylation of paxillin, an
adhesion adapter required for focal adhesion breakdown and turnover. Supporting
a role for SLK in cell cycle progression, deletion of SLK in murine mammary glands
markedly impairs tumorigenesis and TGF beta-induced tumor cell invasion. Overall,
our studies show that SLK is critical for cell invasion and breast cancer progression,
making it an attractive new target for breast cancer therapy.

Coffee and tea will be available at 3p.m.