Electrical signaling in the retinal pigment epithelium regulates photoreceptor renewal
When
Where
Event language(s)
Welcome to our ABC Seminars! This seminar series is open for everyone. The talk will take place in Otakaari 1, Room U154 (U1). After the talks, coffee and pulla will be served.
The event will be also streamed via Zoom at: https://aalto.zoom.us/j/67444945844
Electrical signaling in the retinal pigment epithelium regulates photoreceptor renewal
Abstract: The highly specialized light-detecting cells of the retina, the photoreceptors, depend on the underlying retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) for their survival and functionality. Particularly, their constant renewal requires the precisely regulated uptake and clearance of their aged outer segment tips. We have recently discovered that this process depends on the electrical signaling of the RPE, with a key role played by voltage-gated sodium channels. In this talk, I will introduce a new approach where we measure electrical activity of the RPE at the single-cell level during photoreceptor uptake. The aim is to determine the molecular mechanisms of the renewal process that is critical for retinal health and thus for the maintenance of our sense of vision.
Bio: Soile Nymark is an Associate Professor at Tampere University, Finland. She received her PhD at Aalto University, Finland, studying adaptation mechanisms in retinal photoreceptors. She did her post-doctoral training at Boston University School of Medicine, USA, focusing on the retinal visual cycle. After returning to Finland, Dr. Nymark shifted her attention to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE), the key retinal maintenance tissue, and began investigating its ion channel machinery. In 2016, Dr. Nymark started her own research group with the goal of understanding the multiple interactions between the retina and the RPE focusing on RPE ion channelome and related diseases. Her expertise covers electroretinography, single cell electrophysiology, calcium imaging, live-cell fluorescence microscopy, and different model systems including stem cell derived in vitro models, mice and zebrafish.