Seminar  Announcement  -­‐All  Are  Welcome-­‐  

     

Speaker  :   Dr  Janine  Kruit  Department  of  Paediatrics  University  Medical  Center  Groningen  (UMCG)  

Title              :       Ageing,  DNA  damage  and  diabetes;  is  there  a  link?  

Date   :       28  Feb  2017  (Tuesday)    

Time   :       11.00am  –  12.00pm  

Venue   :       Creation  @  MATRIX,  Level  4    

Host   :       Dr  Roshni  Singaraja  

(Tel:  64074382;  e-­‐mail:  rsingaraja@tlgm.a-­‐star.edu.sg)    

 

Abstract  of  the  Seminar:  Pancreatic  beta  cells   regulate  glucose  homeostasis  by   secreting   insulin   in   response   to  metabolic  demands.  Beta  cell  dysfunction  plays  a  pivotal  role  in  the  development  of  type  2  diabetes  (T2D)  -­‐  the  most  common  metabolic  disease  worldwide.  Ageing   is  a  major   risk   factor   for  T2D,  however,  the   mechanism   underlying   this   relation   is   poorly   understood.   Inherited   defects   in   DNA   repair  cause   segmental   (tissue-­‐specific)   aging   or   progeroid   syndromes   due   to   accumulation   of   DNA  damage.  To  understand  the  relation  between  aging,  DNA  damage  and  diabetes  development,  we  studied   the   impact   of   systemic   and   tissue-­‐specific   genetic   depletion   of   the   DNA   repair   enzyme  ERCC1-­‐XPF  on  glucose  homeostasis  in  mice.  Our  data  reveal  a  role  for  endogenous  DNA  damage  in  the  etiology  of  diabetes.  We  have  developed  a  novel  murine  model  of  type  2  diabetes  that  could  be  used  for  rapid  testing  of  therapeutic  interventions.    

 

 

About  the  Speaker:  Janine   Kruit   received   her   PhD   from   the   University   of   Groningen,   the  Netherlands   in   2006   on   the   role   of   the   intestine   in  HDL  metabolism.  She   then  moved   to   the  Hayden   laboratory   in  Vancouver   to   study   the  role  of  cholesterol  in  pancreatic  islet  function.  Since  March  2014,  she  is  a  junior  group  leader  at  the  department  of  Paediatrics  at  the  University  Medical  Center  Groningen  (UMCG),   the  Netherlands.  The  general  aim  of  her  research  is  to  understand  molecular  mechanisms  that  lead  to  β-­‐cell  dysfunction  in  vivo  with  the  ultimate  goal  to  develop  strategies  to  improve   β -­‐cell   function   in   diabetes.   She   uses   transgenic   mouse  models   and   cell   systems   to   perform   in-­‐depth   analysis   of   systemic  physiology,   cellular  biochemistry,   intracellular   signal   transduction  and  transcriptional   regulation.   Her   latest   research   focuses   on   the   role   of  DNA  damage  in  the  pathogenesis  of  diabetes.