The Society for Mathematical Biology Annual Meeting and Conference, July 25-28, 2012
SMB 2012 Minisymposia
MS19: Intracellular pattern formation: Advances in experiments and modeling (1) - July 27, 9:40-11:20 a.m. SESSION G
Organizers: Ching-shan Chou (Mathematics, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, USA); Adriana Dawes (Mathematics, Molecular Genetics, Ohio State Univ., Columbus, OH, USA)
Presenters: Rong Li, Yi Tau-Mu, Lani Wu, Ching-Shan Chou
Summary. Intracellular pattern formation, in which substances within the cell become non-uniformly distributed, underlies many fundamental biological process: embryonic cells localize certain molecules and divide asymmetrically for cell fate specification, neutrophils initiate movement in response to invading bacteria preceded by reorganization of actin filaments and other signaling molecules, epithelial cells polarize for proper organ function when adhered into tissue sheets. Intracellular patterning is often accompanied by cell shape change, and morphological changes may help reinforce biochemical patterning. Determinants for intracellular patterning are highly conserved, and investigations in one cell type may give general insights into fundamental mechanisms. This minisymposium brings together experimentalists and mathematicians that have made significant contributions to this area of cell biology and will present recent advances in a variety of model systems.
