Biology

Dr. Vinay Bulusu
Cancer Research UK Beatson Institute Glasgow, United Kingdom

Abstract:

Metabolism constituted one of the early focal themes in biology, which led to the elucidation of complex regulatory pathways. Yet, how these pathways are regulated by extrinsic and intrinsic cellular cues is unclear. Further, with the evolution of multicellularity and compartmentalization of cellular space, the mechanisms governing utilization of nutrients and the organization of downstream metabolic fluxes remain uncharacterized.

In this talk, I will first discuss my results that reveal the presence of a glycolytic gradient across the mouse embryonic presomitic mesoderm (PSM) tissue. Using stable isotope tracing and imaging using a pyruvate biosensor, I find that this metabolic gradient develops as a consequence of cellular differentiation in the PSM and is therefore an intrinsic feature of cellular state. This will be followed by the work where the tumor microenvironment switches the metabolite requirement for the growth and survival of cancer cells. I will also discuss our most recent study where we have identified a lipid metabolic symbiotic relationship between transformed pancreatic ductal epithelial cells and pancreatic stellate cells. These results collectively show that metabolism is organized across diverse cellular scales and has functional relevance in health and disease.

I will finally discuss my future research directions based on analytical and imaging approaches to understand cellular metabolism qualitatively and quantitatively in the context of cellular physiology and pathophysiology.