Drug ACTION Specific Seminar – Nan Gao, PhD

Pharmaceutical Sciences Seminar Series

(Drug ACTION Specific Seminar)

• Nan Gao, PhD
• Rutgers University

Non-canonical Paneth cell functions regulate intestinal inflammatory response

Paneth cells are the primary source of C-type lysozyme, a β-1,4-N-acetylmuramoylhydrolase that enzymatically processes bacterial cell walls. Aberrant lysozyme production are hallmarks of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathology. I will show experiments that demonstrate the impact of lack or ectopic lysozyme production on colonic inflammation. I will also show data about how Lyz1-deficiency modulates the gut bacterial composition and intestinal immune responses to bacterial molecular patterns. I will present biochemical and immunology evidence to suggest that Paneth cell lysozyme balances intestinal anti- and pro-inflammatory responses.

In addition, I will shed light on our recent finding that a direct engagement of intestinal lysozyme with enteric pathogens such as Salmonella promotes the release of bacterial virulence factors that are barrier-impairing and pro-inflammatory.

In the end I’ll discuss our ongoing work investigating the Paneth cell subsets that may be important for host responses to infection and inflammation.

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