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Prof. Meng Carla Wang of Baylor College of Medicine Delivers IBP’s BEI Shizhang Lecture

Updated: 2019-12-12

On December 3, 2019, upon the invitation of Researcher Liu Pingsheng of the National Laboratory of Biomacromolecules, Dr. Meng Carla Wang, professor of Baylor College of Medicine and faculty scholar of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), visited the Institute of Biophysics (IBP) and delivered a BEI Shizhang Lecture. Her topic was messenger metabolites, lipid metabolism & longevity regulation. 
In her lecture, Prof. Wang revealed the fundamental mechanisms of organism aging, lipid metabolism, and reproductive senescence. She said that her team discovered that the LIPL-4 lipase in lysosome is over-expressed in long-lived nematodes, and the over-expression in homologous proteins in drosophila melanogaster OEA also has a longevity phenotype. 
Combining lipomics, chemical proteomics and functional genomics, the team systematically studied the metabolites and proteins involved in the lysosome-nucleus communication network, and concluded that lipid chaperonin LBP-8 responds to lysosomal lipolysis and transfers from lysosome to the nucleus. It brings in lipid metabolite - oleoyl ethanolamide to activate the nuclear receptor, and thereby extends lifespan. 
The research revealed the reverse lysosome-nucleus signal transduction pathway, and the role this new signal mechanism plays in regulation of longevity. Small metabolites constitute a chemical language in cells and exist specifically in cell organelles. It was also discovered that these metabolites are highly conservative across species. Colanic acid (CA) produced in bacteria can regulate the lifespan of the host by regulating its chondriokinesis. 
Additionally, for the purpose of directly monitoring the metabolites in vivo, the team has developed a new method, Raman scattering (SRS) microscopy, to track and regulate temporal and spatial distribution of lipid molecules in living and multicellular organisms. With the SRS microscopy, they were able to monitor multiple lipid metabolites, quantitatively and qualitatively, at subcellular resolution, to reveal component changes relevant to metabolic pathology. 
Researcher Liu Pingsheng hosting the lecture
Prof. Meng Carla Wang giving the report
Audience
Researcher Liu and Prof. Wang after the report
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