Department of Molecular Medicine and Pathology seminar series: Observing cellular signalling at the near-molecular scale with optical super-resolution microscopy

Tuesday, 26 June 2012
3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Location: At Seminar Room 501-505, Building 501, 85 Park Road, Grafton

Speaker: Associate Professor Christian Soeller, Department of Physiology
Department: Molecular Medicine and Pathology

In many cells and tissues signaling involves interactions between proteins and protein complexes that are strongly determined by proximity and spatial confinement. A number of specialized signaling domains, such as caveloe, synapses and other membrane junctions are well-known examples.

The dimensions of interest are typically <100 nm and have therefore been difficult to study with conventional microscopy which is in practice generally limited to a resolution of ~250 nm. Many of these obstacles have recently been overcome by the advent of optical super-resolution microscopies. I will describe some basic principles and show applications into cardiac muscle Ca2+ handling proteins and proteins involved in neuronal information processing.