- Friday, April 24, 2015
- 1:30 PM–2:20 PM
- Science Building 010
Daniel Michele, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Molecular & Integrative Physiology University of Michigan
Most living cells have a remarkable capacity to repair damage to the lipid bilayer that forms the plasma membrane. This process of membrane repair is not well understood but is thought to involve fusion of an undefined cytoplasmic pool of membrane vesicles or organelles. In contracting muscle where the plasma membrane undergoes considerable mechanical stress, a key synaptotagmin-like protein called dysferlin, is believed to be critical for the membrane repair response. Null mutations in dysferlin cause muscular dystrophy in humans and corresponding mouse models. We are utilizing live cell imaging techniques to study the role of dysferlin in membrane repair, and to uncover the mechanisms of how membranes are repaired in normal muscle and several forms of inherited muscular dystrophy.
