Ann Wehman

Seminar Details

Host: TBA

Time: 4:00 pm- 5:00 pm

Location: BICH 108

Seminar Abstract

Eukaryotic cells are encased in bilayer membranes with differing lipid composition in the two leaflets. This asymmetry is disrupted during important biological processes, such as cell division, fertilization, muscle cell fusion, and programmed cell death. Lipid asymmetry is actively managed by flippase proteins, such as the P4-ATPase TAT-5, and bilayer asymmetry is destroyed by lipid scramblases. Over the last decade, my lab has discovered how the trafficking and activity of TAT-5 and other flippases regulates the localization of a subset of lipids, which regulate extracellular vesicle budding from the plasma membrane and the phagocytosis of cell corpses and extracellular vesicles during embryonic development, neuronal morphogenesis, and spermatogenesis. Our creative use of degrons as a selective labeling approach has also provided insights into corpse clearance by LC3-associated phagocytosis and membrane tubulation during lysosomal breakdown. The small size of lipids has made understanding their contributions to membrane dynamics challenging, but we continue to probe how lipid subclasses contribute to membrane dynamics and to develop in vivo labeling strategies for lipid subtypes, as well as extracellular vesicles. Our basic cell biological studies have broad-ranging impacts, as extracellular vesicles and phagocytosis play important roles during normal development and physiology, as well as in cancer and immune regulation.