Control of Cell Identity by Polycomb Group Proteins

Venue: Edificio Povo 2, via Sommarive nr. 9, Povo (Tn) - Room B103
 At 2:00 p.m.

• Diego Pasini​​ - Department of Experimental Oncology, European Institute of Oncology, Milan, Italy

Establishing and then maintaining cellular identity during differentiation requires signalling events to be transmitted to the chromatin level; transcription factors (TFs) and chromatin-remodelling activities work together to orchestrate the transcription programs underlying this transmission. It is now clear that chromatin remodelers play a major role in regulating cellular identity, resulting one of the most mutated pathways among all type of human cancers. In this context, Polycomb proteins (PcG) play a crucial role as regulators in development and differentiation. PcGs are frequently mutated or altered in their activity in numerous types of human cancers via molecular mechanisms that are still poorly understood. At the seminar will be presented the recent advances of our laboratory aimed to dissect the molecular mechanisms underling distinct PcG activities in establishing and maintaining cell type specific transcriptional identity during both normal homeostasis and pathological conditions.