The Fall 2019 Biology Seminar Series concludes with Catherine Brennan's talk, "Using Drosophila to study the immunity and biology of macrophages."
Catherine Brennan
California State University, Fullerton
Using Drosophila to study the immunity and biology of macrophages
Organisms throughout the animal kingdom possess specialized white blood cells, such as macrophages, that are able to engulf and kill invading microbes, as well as scavenge cellular debris such as apoptotic self cells, through the process of phagocytosis. One emerging theme is the importance of metabolism in influencing the activation state and function of mammalian macrophages, although the mechanisms are very unclear. My lab is developing the fruit fly Drosophila as a model to study metabolic aspects of macrophage function, taking advantage of the genetic tools available in this model organism. I will discuss our work identifying novel genes that mediate metabolic control of macrophage inflammation, as well as our studies on lipids and reactive oxygen species in inflammatory macrophages.
Tuesday, November 19th
BioScience 113
11:45 a.m.