The Weill Institute is pleased to welcome Matthew Paszek (Associate Professor in the Smith School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, Cornell University) to the Molecular Cell Bio Group. He'll present: "Hidden forces lurking within the mammalian-cell glycocalyx."

 Join us on Wednesday, May 7th, in Weill Hall 226 at 4pm.

ABSTRACT: The glycocalyx is a densely crowded structure that is comprised of proteins and sugar structures called glycans on the mammalian cell surface. Changes in glycocalyx composition are a hallmark of cell state transitions, including differentiation and transformation. In this seminar, I will discuss how previously unrecognized forces within the glycocalyx can play a powerful role in regulating membrane morphology, cell-cell interactions, and cell-surface receptor signaling. Our investigations have been aided by new genetic and optical tools for studying the nanoscale physical biology of the glycocalyx. Applying these tools, we have found that entropic forces within the glycocalyx can drive membrane curvature and reprogram the functional morphology of cells. I also will discuss our discovery that the abnormally thick and dense glycocalyx of cancer cells can physically protect against immune cell recognition and killing. Finally, I will present more recent work indicating that strong macromolecular “crowding” forces within the cancer-cell glycocalyx contribute to the free energy of growth factor receptor multimerization. Collectively, our results implicate the hidden forces associated with the glycocalyx in shaping broad aspects of cell biology and cancer.

Molecular Cell Bio Group, hosted by the Weill Institute for Cell and Molecular Biology, is a monthly interdisciplinary meeting to provide opportunities for labs across Cornell's Ithaca campus to network and share research and knowledge related broadly to cell and molecular biology. We hope these meetings encourage future collaborations and the sharing of materials and ideas.