2010年12月17日，中國科學院上海生命科學研究院生物化學與細胞生物學研究所教授王綱博士應邀訪問研究所并舉辦學術講座。講座的題目為：Roles of Mediator Complex in transcription control and cell fate determination。朱冰博士主持講座。

Abstract:

Mediator Complex regulates gene activities by interacting with gene-specific transcription factors and the Pol II transcription machinery. Growing evidence has demonstrated that the Mediator Complex functions as a control center in directing diverse biological processes. Mediator Med23 subunit was recently shown to be a critical link transduing insulin signaling to the transcriptional cascade during adipocyte differentiation (Dev Cell, 16, 764). We now found that Med23-deficiency upregulates a group of RhoA/SRF-regulated cytoskeleton genes and promotes myogenesis via regulation of Mal, a muscle-lineage transcription regulator. Analysis of tissue-specific expression pattern of Med23 revealed its relative high expression in adipose, low in blood vessels, and almost absent in skeletal muscles. Significantly, in the severe Duchne Muscular Dystrophy patients whose skeletal muscles have been partially replaced by adipose, the absent Med23 is re-expressed. These data suggest that the Mediator Med23 controls a bidirectional cell fate switch between adipogenesis and myogenesis. Data to verify these observations with conditional knockout mice and zebrafish will be discussed.