MBI PhD Oral Defence

Time: 4PM
Date: Thursday, 27 February 2020
Venue: S3-05-02 – DBS CONFERENCE ROOM I (S3 LEVEL 5)

Supervisor: Prof. Low Boon Chuan

Co-Supervisor: Prof. Pakorn Tony Kanchanawong

ROLES OF BNIP-2 IN MECHANOTRANSDUCTION OF CARDIOMYOCYTE DIFFERENTIATION

by WONG Chen Pei Darren, Low Boon Chuan Group

Cardiac and skeletal muscles originate from the mesoderm and share many similarities during development. However, there are biochemical and biophysical differences in terminally differentiated cardiac and skeletal muscles. The BCL2/adenovirus E1B 19 kDa-interacting protein 2 (BNIP-2) was previously found to promote skeletal muscle differentiation via activation of p38 MAPK through small GTPase Cdc42. Here, we showed that BNIP-2 does not engage p38/Cdc42 node for cardiomyocyte differentiation. Instead, BNIP-2 promotes cardiomyocyte differentiation though regulating LATS1 and cellular contractility. The significance of the novel role of BNIP-2 signalling in cardiomyocyte differentiation will be discussed.

**Please note the examination following the seminar is closed-door**