CCR5: a Crossroad for Infection and Inflammation

Luca Vangelista, 13th October 2021  
CCR5: a Crossroad for Infection and Inflammation

Luca Vangelists of the University of Nazarbayev, Kazakhstan will give a talk at 5.00 pm on the 13th of October on CCR5: a Crossroad for Infection and Inflammation. The talk will be available online at the following link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88600327505?pwd=TDZLYlBoYTgzcmNIMXI3UlZ5dy94Zz09

The seminar poster that can be downloaded here. All College students are invited to attend, especially those reading Biology, Biotechnology, Pharmaceutical Sciences and Medicine.

Abstract
CCR5 and its interaction with chemokine ligands have been crucial for understanding and tackling HIV-1 entry into target cells. Over time, CCR5 was found to be central in a growing number of pathophysiological conditions. Expressed on various cell types, CCR5 plays a pivotal role in the inflammatory response by directing cells to sites of inflammation, ultimately resulting in major diseases such as cancer and atherosclerosis. Many infectious agents use CCR5 either by a direct interaction with the receptor during their pathogenesis (e.g., HIV-1 and S. aureus) or by indirect strategies exploiting receptor activation. The massive efforts devoted to combat HIV-1 entry by interfering with CCR5, and the subsequent production of chemokine ligand variants, small chemical compounds, and other molecular entities and strategies, may set the therapeutic standards for a wealth of different pathologies.

Biography
- Degree in Chemistry and Pharmaceutical Technology at the University of Padova, Italy.
- PhD in Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg, Germany, for the PhD work at the Structural Biology Program of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) headquarters in Heidelberg.
- Postdoctoral Fellow in the Molecular Immunology Group at the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology in Trieste, Italy.
- Research Scientist at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute and the University of Milan, Italy.
- Group Leader (Protein Engineering and Therapeutics) at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy.
- Associate Professor & Director Master in Molecular Medicine at the Nazarbayev University School of Medicine, Nur-Sultan (Astana), Kazakhstan.
- Visiting Scientist at GSK (UK), University of Vienna (Austria), Sanquin Research Amsterdam (Netherland), Biozentrum Basel (Switzerland) and Osel Inc. (USA).

Image
The structure of a CCR5 peptide involved in the interaction with the HIV gp120 protein (pdb code: 2l87)

 

 

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