Prof.SandhyaS.VisweswariahLaboratory:GA09,BiologicalSciencesBuilding,IndianInstituteofScienceEmail:sandhya@mrdg.iisc.ernet.inWebpage:http://www.mrdg.iisc.ernet.in/sandhya-s-visweswariah/

Signalinginthegut:alldiseasebeginsinthegut!ReceptorguanylylcyclaseC:amodulatorofintestinalfluidandionsecretion;regulatorofcellproliferation

Identifiedthefirstmutationsinhumansthatarethecauseoffamilialsecretorydiarrhealsyndrome

Wenowwishtocharacterizemousemodelsthatmimichumandisease

Whatarethechangesthatoccurinthegut?CanwefindwaystomodulateGC-Cfunction?

Approaches:Transgenicmousemodels;NGStoidentifydifferentiallyregulatedgenes.miRNAsGutorganoidculturestoidentifytherolesofGC-Cingutdevelopment:isthereacellnon-autonomousregulationofintestinalstemcellfunction?

Agrowingmouseorganoid

Differentialexpressionofinflammatorygenesandcytokinesinthegut

Representative publicationsMüller. T., et al (2015) Congenital secretory diarrhoea caused by activating germline mutations in GUCY2C. Gut. doi: 10.1136/gutjnl-2015-309441Fiskerstrand,Tetal(2012)FamilialDiarrhea SyndromecausedbyanactivatingGUCY2Cactivatingmutation.N.Engl.J.Med.366:1586-1595.Basu etal(2014)IntestinalcellproliferationandsenescenceisregulatedbyreceptorguanylylcyclaseC.J.Biol.Chem..289:581-593Mishraetal(2017)GuanylylCyclaseCinEncylopedia ofSignalingMolecules(Springer)

Arun Kumar, PhD Professor

Lab: GE12

Tel: 080-2293 2998

Email: karun@mrdg.iisc.ernet.in

Human Molecular Genetics & Cancer Biology Lab

Current research interests: • Role of microRNAs in oral cancer with an aim to use them as therapeutic targets.

• Identification of transcriptional targets of the tumor suppressor TSC2 and their use in

oral cancer therapeutics.

• Next generation sequencing based discovery of causative genes for primary microcephaly

(small brain) & Anencephaly (no brain).

Selected publications:

1.Singh N et al. (2017). A homozygous mutation in TRIM36

causes autosomal recessive anencephaly in an Indian family.

Human Molecular Genetics, 26:1104-1114.

2.Tiwari A et al. (2014). microRNA-125a reduces proliferation

and invasion of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells by

targeting estrogen-related receptor alpha: implications for

cancer therapeutics. Journal of Biological Chemistry, 289:

32276-32290.

3.Pradhan SA et al. (2014). Evidence that TSC2 acts as

transcription factor and binds to and represses the

promoter of epiregulin. Nucleic Acids Research, 42:6243-6255.

Mutation in Anencephaly gene

TRIM36 disrupts microtubules

PI3K-AKT-TSC1/TSC2-mTOR pathway

Targeting ESRRA by a synthetic

miR-125a mimic reduces oral

cancer xenograft in nude mice

miR-125a mimic Mock

Cellular signaling in aging, inflammation and infection

Deepak K Saini MRDG/ BSSE, IISc

•Aging • Inflammation Signals

•Cross-talk •Drug targeting Mechanism

•Diagnostics •Biosensors Processing

•Targets •Regulators Identify

•Anti - inflammatory

• Senolytics Therapy

Research interests Signal transduction in aging and inflammation Intervention strategies for inflammation triggered

degenerative diseases including cancers Signaling and adaptation in tubercle bacilli Novel diagnostic processes based of microscopy

and spectroscopy techniques Potential projects: 1. Modulation of crosstalk in Two component signal

transduction systems in M. tuberculosis 2. Inflammodulation in aging through regulation of

kinases and phosphatases

deepak@mrdg.iisc.ernet.in

Ramray Bhat, MBBS, PhD Assistant Professor, MRDG, IISc GA07 Biological Sciences Building MRDG, IISc ramray@mrdg.iisc.ernet.in 080-22932764 https://iiscmorphogroup.wordpress.com/ Research Focus: morphology and microenvironment

An important focus of our group is the investigation of mechanisms by which ovarian cancer cells undergo metastasis. Whereas we are beginning to understand how spheroids, metastatic multicellular collectives form, an understanding of how they ‘explode’ and attach upon reaching prospective sites of colonization remains ill-elucidated. The incoming student will have an opportunity to tackle this translational cancer-biological question in collaboration with clinicians and physical scientists.

Ovarian cancer metastasis

Cancer and Stem Cells

Drug Resistance

Normal

Metastasis Anoikis resistance

EMT

AMPK

Stemness

Cancer

Cancer spheres

Enriched in stem/progenitors

Primary Cancer Tissue

In collaboration with hospitals: KMIO, NIMHANS,

Bangalore

Anu Rangarajan, MRDG

(Mittal et al, Mol Cancer Ther., 2014)

(Balaji SA et al., PloS One, 2016) (Sundarraman et al., JBC, 2016)

Notch

Mechanisms of cancer stemness, drug resistance. Proteomics, Genomics, Cell culture, Animal models.

TANWEER HUSSAIN’s Lab

PROJECT: Understanding protein synthesis and its regulation The synthesis of proteins using genetic information encoded in mRNA is tightly controlled and much of this regulation occurs during the initial steps of translation. In higher organisms the translation initiation is much more regulated than in prokaryotes. Although the regulation of translation initiation is critical for many life processes, the molecular mechanism(s) of its regulation is poorly understood. Understanding translation initiation and its regulation is essential because dysregulation of initiation is associated with several human metabolic disorders and cancer. We aim to understand the molecular mechanisms involved in the regulation of translation initiation using biochemical, mutational and structural approaches. Cryo-electron microscopy and X-ray crystallography will be used to determine 3D structures of the proteins and the macromolecular complexes involved. There are 2 PhD projects aiming to elucidate two separate mechanisms by which translation initiation is regulated.

Steps involved in determination of 3D structure by cryo-electron microscopy

Developmental and Biomedical Genetics Laboratory (https://dbgl.wordpress.com – GB03) Prof. Upendra Nongthomba’s group

Primarily our group is interested on understanding the molecular and genetic basis of myopathies and neurodegenerative disorders, using the genetically amenable model organisms, Drosophila – Fruit fly and Danio rerio - Zebrafish. We also use both the model systems for dissecting muscle and neural related Immunity responses, Drug screening, Functional genomics and Biomechanics studies. Our long term goals include providing therapeutic solutions and developing new diagnostic tools for protein aggregate myopathies, Dystrophies, neurodegenerative diseases and age-related disorders.

Selected Recent articles:

•Haddadi M., Jahromi S. R., Nongthomba U., Shivanandappa T. and Ramesh S. R., 2016. 4-Hydroxyisophthalic Acid from Decalepis hamiltonii rescues the neurobehavioral deficit in transgenic Drosophila model of Taupathies. Neurochemistry International 100: 78–90. doi: 10.1016/j.neuint.2016.09.007.

•Chatterjee A., Roy D., Patnaik E. and Nongthomba U.†, 2016. Muscles are important immune responsive tissues. Disease Model Mechanisms 9: 697–705. doi: 10.1242/dmm.022665.

•Firdaus H., Mohan J., Naz S., Arthi B. P., Ramesh S. R. and Nongthomba U.†, 2015. A cis-regulatory mutation in Troponin-I of Drosophila reveals the importance of proper stoichiometry of structural proteins during muscle assembly. Genetics 200: 149–165.

•Rai M., Katti P. and Nongthomba U.†, 2014. Drosophila erect wing (Ewg) controls mitochondrial fusion during muscle growth and maintenance by regulation of the Opal-like gene. Journal of Cell Science 127: 191–203.

•Sinam Y. M., Chatterjee A., Ranjini M. S., Poojari A., Nagarajan A., Ramachandra N. B. and Nongthomba U.†, 2016. Adaptive response of long and short lived Cytoraces of Drosophila to pathogens. Infection, Genetics and Evolution 44: 1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.meegid.2016.06.025