Itai Yanai: How do cells learn? A mechanism for adaptive genome regulation in cancer

Speaker
Itai Yanai (New York University Grossman School of Medicine, Institute for Systems Genetics & Biochemistry and Molecular Pharmacology) 

Abstract
The ability of cancer cells to consistently escape therapy highlights their remarkable adaptive potential. A longstanding debate in cancer research concerns whether drug resistance originates primarily from mutational processes or through cellular plasticity. Emerging evidence suggests that adaptive cellular states arise through phenotypic plasticity induced by intracellular stress signals. In this talk I will propose a theoretical framework for how such cellular adaptation in cancer drug resistance could be induced by the AP-1 family of transcription factors. I’ll highlight key AP-1 properties, including stress-induced feedback, regulatory combinatorics, and cellular memory, and argue that this system constitutes a molecular framework for establishing drug-resistant cellular states. I’ll also discuss the potentially broad relevance of this adaptation mechanism beyond cancer.

Read more about his research here. 

Host:
Jan Philipp Junker