THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED.

QBI presents a seminar with Karla Satchell, Professor of Microbiology and Director of the Center for Structural Biology of Infectious Diseases at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.

Dr. Satchell earned her Ph.D. at the University of Washington and conducted post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School. She joined the faculty at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago in 2000. Dr. Satchell conducts research on the MARTX toxins of Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio vulnificus building a diverse program including studies on structure, mechanism of action, and the role of the toxin in infection using mouse models. Her most recent work probes how different virulence factor combinations impact cell signaling and pathogenesis and tests redirecting toxins as potential cancer therapeutics.

Talk Title: Large Autoprocessing Proteins In Innate Immune Evasion During Cholera and COVID-19 Infections

Vibrio cholerae colonization of the human intestine is augmented by a large exported cytotoxin that delivers three effectors into cells by autoprocessing. The action of the toxin effectors drive actin crosslinking that results in stimulation of innate immune responses, However, the bacteria colonizes without inducing inflammation as co-delivered effectors block the signaling pathways for innate immune activation. With the advent of COVID-19, Dr. Satchell's group conducted similar studies in SARS-CoV-2. The large protein Orf1ab is also processed by autoprocessing to release cytosolic proteins for viral replication. This process should induce viral innate immunity, but the action of nsp16 can reduce the inflammation by blocking detection of viral RNA.

Host: Saumya Gopalkrishnan