Alexa Gajda, PhD Candidate (University of Illinois at Chicago): Thesis Defense
April 28, 2025
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Location
Moss Auditorium - 1020 COMRB
Calendar
Download iCal FileHost: Emrah Er, PhD
Cellular stiffness profoundly impacts cancer metastasis at multiple levels, but mechanisms that regulate cancer cells’ stiffness remain poorly understood. Here, we identified potassium efflux and KCNMB1, an auxiliary subunit of the large conductance potassium efflux (BK) channels, as regulators of cellular stiffness downstream of myocardin related transcription factor A (MRTFA). Genetic manipulation of KCNMB1 expression yielded changes in actin cytoskeleton organization and intracellular potassium levels, highlighting the ionic regulation of stiffness in cancer cells and pointing to BK channel agonism as a plausible therapeutic approach in cancer.
Date posted
Mar 13, 2025
Date updated
Apr 18, 2025
Speakers
