2010年12月17日，中国科学院上海生命科学研究院生物化学与细胞生物学研究所教授王纲博士应邀访问研究所并举办学术讲座。

    2010年12月17日，中国科学院上海生命科学研究院生物化学与细胞生物学研究所教授王纲博士应邀访问研究所并举办学术讲座。讲座的题目为：Roles of Mediator Complex in transcription control and cell fate determination。朱冰博士主持讲座。

Abstract:

Mediator Complex regulates gene activities by interacting with gene-specific transcription factors and the Pol II transcription machinery. Growing evidence has demonstrated that the Mediator Complex functions as a control center in directing diverse biological processes. Mediator Med23 subunit was recently shown to be a critical link transduing insulin signaling to the transcriptional cascade during adipocyte differentiation (Dev Cell, 16, 764). We now found that Med23-deficiency upregulates a group of RhoA/SRF-regulated cytoskeleton genes and promotes myogenesis via regulation of Mal, a muscle-lineage transcription regulator. Analysis of tissue-specific expression pattern of Med23 revealed its relative high expression in adipose, low in blood vessels, and almost absent in skeletal muscles. Significantly, in the severe Duchne Muscular Dystrophy patients whose skeletal muscles have been partially replaced by adipose, the absent Med23 is re-expressed. These data suggest that the Mediator Med23 controls a bidirectional cell fate switch between adipogenesis and myogenesis. Data to verify these observations with conditional knockout mice and zebrafish will be discussed.