C. elegans as a discovery platform for host-microbe interactions

November 18, 2024

Location:

In person: MIT 68 Room 180

Zoom Alternative: https://mit.zoom.us/j/93160880021

MIT Microbiome Club Academic Seminar Series

Professor Javier Irazoqui
UMass Chan Medical School

Monday, November 18, 4:00pm – 5:00pm

Summary: Small model organisms are powerful tools to identify and dissect genetic pathways that determine the outcome of host-microbe interactions. My laboratory's goal is to identify novel pathways of host defense against infection, and to assess their relevance to infectious diseases and interactions with the microbiota. For 20 years, we have been applying an interdisciplinary approach to identify novel host defense pathways using C. elegans, and translating those insights using mammalian models. A major focus of our work is the role and regulation of MiT transcription factors (TFEB, TFE3, and MITF) in the context of infection and interaction with the microbiota. We discovered that MiT transcription factor HLH-30 in C. elegans is activated by infection and promotes host defense through innate immunity. However, the regulation of HLH-30 and similar MiT factors in mammals is incompletely understood. Moreover, the downstream pathways that promote host survival are poorly defined. We will discuss recent progress in the field, including regulation of HLH-30-mediated host defense by the nervous system, novel mechanisms of host defense downstream of HLH-30, and mechanisms of negative regulation that may promote the resolution of the innate host response after clearance of the infection. These new insights both help understand these highly conserved mechanisms of innate immunity across phylogeny, and identify potential new candidate therapeutic targets to improve disease outcomes.

Bio: Dr. Irazoqui is a Professor of Microbiology at UMass Chan Medical School and Dr. Marcellete Williams Distinguished Scholar. Dr. Irazoqui obtained his PhD in Cell and Molecular Biology from Duke University and trained as a postdoctoral fellow with Dr. Fred Ausubel at Harvard Medical School/Massachusetts General Hospital. His research is focused on discovery of innate host defense pathways that impact infections by bacterial pathogens and interactions with the microbiota. Dr. Irazoqui is highly active in several initiatives to center historically marginalized identities in STEM, at his home institution and in professional societies.