Seminar at CMM: “A defense molecule fuels skin inflammation and tissue remodeling in vertebrate water to land transitions”
- Time:
- Location:
- CMM Lecture Hall, Visionsgatan 18, floor 00, L8:00 Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset
- Speaker:
- Irene Salinas Remiro, Professor in Biology, University of New Mexico, US
- Topic:
- A defense molecule fuels skin inflammation and tissue remodeling in vertebrate water to land transitions
Most welcome to join!
Summary: Transitioning from water to land was a major step that marked the success of vertebrates during evolution. This transition imposed profound challenges to mucosal barriers, as they became exposed to novel stressors such as dehydration and UV exposure. African lungfish are the closest living relative to all tetrapods and undergo water-land-water transitions every year when water and food dissapear in the dry season of Africa. Adapting to land, also known as estivation, requires drastic remodeling of the skin, which must shift from a mucosal configuration to a terrestrial-like one. In estivating lungfish, skin remodeling culminates in the formation of a cocoon, a cellular and mucosal structure that encases the body and protects lungfish against dessication and pathogen attack. In my seminar I will present new unpublished data from my laboratory that indicates that water to land transitions in vertebrates are fueled by a previously unknown molecule with defense functions. This molecule, called Protop-CrTX-A, is a pore forming toxin encoded in the African lungfish genome and not found in any other vertebrate taxon. Proptop-CrTX-A is produced by goblet cells and granulocytes and its expression is highly upregulated upon estivation. Protop-CrTX-A is sufficient to remodel the free-swimming aquatic skin into a terrestrial skin by self inflicting skin epithelial damage, inducing keratinocyte exfoliation and reducing goblet cell numners . Once in the cocoon, Protop-CrTX-A can deploy its antifungal and insecticidal functions to protect African lungfish during the vulnerable estivation period. Our work uncovers a new paradigm where toxins involved in prey-predator and host-pathogen interactions were repurposed to support the mucosal barrier remodeling processes necessary for vertebrates to conquer land.