Start Monday November 7th at 4pm (CET, Berlin/Paris)

(3 pm London/Lisbon, 10am New-York, 7am San Francisco, 5pm Tel Aviv)

Link to the Zoom conference: https://univ-grenoble-alpes-fr.zoom.us/j/91695622024?pwd=NjhjVXcrTGwrb3lIZThoRGd0WmsxZz09

Main Speaker: Amy Buck, co-Head of Institute for the Institute of Immunology & Infection Research, Edinburgh, UK (Link)

Title: RNA communication in host-pathogen interactions

Abstract:

Strongylid nematode parasites colonize the gastrointestinal tracks of mammals, where they promote immune tolerance and modulate the local gut environment through secretion of bioactive molecules. Like their free-living relative Caenorhabditis elegans, these parasites encode a clade of worm-specific Argonaute proteins (WAGOs) that function in diverse forms of gene regulation. We discovered a highly abundant extracellular WAGO (exWAGO) protein in the parasites that is released into the host gut environment through encapsulation in extracellular vesicles, and may also be secreted in a non-vesicular form.  The exWAGO protein associates with a specific population of 22-23G secondary siRNAs, many of which derive from transposable elements. Using infections with Heligmosomoides bakeri, a natural pathogen of mice, we show that both exWAGO and its associated parasite siRNAs can be detected in mouse cells following infection. We hypothesize that exWAGO is required for survival of the parasites during chronic infection in the host gut and further show that exWAGO is a vaccine candidate in the rodent model.  Using computational predictions we show that genes which are complementary to the parasite siRNAs are globally suppressed following incubation of mouse intestinal cells with extracellular vesicles from H.bakeri. Work is ongoing to detail the gene silencing mechanisms associated with exWAGO and to define the host pathways that are regulated by this cross-species RNA interference pathway. 

Short session speaker (8 minutes long): xxx (PhD student)

Title: To come

Abstract: