Seminář Susana Minguet
2026-02-04 15:00 - 16:00 (Europe/Prague) | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Harnessing TCR Discoveries for the Next Generation of Immunotherapies”
Recent advances in synthetic immunology and CAR T cell engineering have highlighted the critical importance of signaling diversity for optimizing anti-tumor responses. Our work outlines the design of innovative cell-based cancer immunotherapies rooted in a molecular understanding of T cell activation via the T cell receptor complex (TCR–CD3). I will discuss how modulating receptor signaling interfaces and precisely recruiting kinases and adaptors can advance both fundamental immunology and translational therapies. Key noncanonical interactions between specific components of the TCR–CD3 complex and the Src-kinase Lck fine-tune T cell activation; when implemented in chimeric antigen receptors (CARs), these mechanisms improved in vivo tumor control and reduced T cell exhaustion. Supporting our rational design of next-generation CAR T cells, we demonstrated that harnessing CD3 chain diversity, rather than simply increasing signaling strength, enabled the generation of CAR T cells with enhanced anti-tumor efficacy and safety profiles.

Seminář Lucie Janečková
2026-02-11 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“NG2-lineage cell plasticity in ischemic brain repair: Roles of Wnt signaling”
Focal cerebral ischemia (FCI) leads to neuronal loss followed by extensive tissue remodeling, in which glial and vascular cell populations play indispensable roles. Among these, NG2 glia and perivascular NG2⁺ cells represent highly plastic cell types that actively participate in post-ischemic responses, yet their functional heterogeneity and regulatory mechanisms remain poorly understood. In this lecture, I will present our work investigating how these cell populations respond to ischemic injury and how modulation of Wnt/β-catenin signaling reshapes their cellular states and functions. By combining lineage tracing, transcriptomic analyses, and imaging approaches, we uncover changes in oligodendrocyte differentiation, perivascular cell behavior, and their contributions to tissue repair and regeneration. Finally, I will introduce an ongoing spatial transcriptomics study aimed at mapping cellular organization in the ischemic periphery and glial scar, highlighting emerging spatial patterns and open questions in brain regeneration.

Seminář Pranav Gulati
2026-02-18 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Initiating Mechanisms of Autoinflammatory Osteomyelitis: dysregulated neutrophil recruitment and tyrosine kinase signaling”
Autoinflammatory diseases result from inappropriate activation of the innate immune system in the absence of infection. Loss of PSTPIP2, a membrane adaptor protein, leads to the development of one such disease Chronic Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CMO), an autoinflammatory disease in mice which serves as a model for Chronic Recurrent Multifocal Osteomyelitis (CRMO) in humans. Neutrophils are essential for murine CMO initiation and contribute to tissue damage, but the early events that trigger their pathogenic activity remain poorly defined. Our work shows that early alterations in neutrophil signaling and migration precede both classical inflammatory cytokine responses and the appearance of overt disease symptoms. Pharmacological inhibition of some of these early pathways reduces disease severity and neutrophil activation. Together, these findings identify the initiating mechanisms of sterile bone inflammation in the mouse model of autoinflammatory osteomyelitis and provide potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Seminář Poulami Banik
2026-02-25 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Characterization and targeted rescue of a novel PRPF31 mutation in retinitis pigmentosa”
Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is an inherited retinal disease characterized by photoreceptor loss. Mutations in the PRPF31 gene cause approximately 10% of cases of autosomal dominant RP. In this project, we characterize a novel intronic pathogenic variant in the PRPF31 gene. We provide evidence that the novel RP mutation activates a cryptic splice site, inducing the expression of an abnormal transcript. The resulting protein is unstable, and patient cells exhibit lower expression of PRPF31 and other splicing factors. To correct aberrant RNA splicing, we applied modified antisense oligonucleotides (ASOs) to improve PRPF31 splicing in patient cells. We differentiated the patients‘ induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) into retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells and demonstrated that ASO treatment improves PRPF31 splicing and increases PRPF31 protein levels in patient’s RPE cells. These findings suggest that ASO-based splicing correction is a promising therapy for this currently untreatable disease.

BD Biosciences – Lunch and Learn Seminar
2026-03-03
Dear colleagues,
We would like to invite you to join Lunch & Learn seminar focused on Panel Design Strategy in Flow Cytometry. This session is designed to support anyone involved in planning, optimizing, or performing multicolor flow cytometry experiments by providing both conceptual guidance and practical demonstrations.

More information and registration.
Flyer

Registration is free.

Best regards

—

Matyáš Šíma, Ph.D.

Seminář Vladimír Varga
2026-03-04 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Towards understanding life cycle of Trypanosoma brucei”
Trypanosoma brucei is a unicellular eukaryotic parasite of mammals causing sleeping sickness in humans. T. brucei is transmitted by the tsetse fly. In the fly trypanosomes migrate from the gut to salivary glands, which is associated with a defined sequence of changes to cells of the parasite. We have established an in vitro approach enabling us for the first time to study these life cycle transitions during initial stages of trypanosome migration. Hence, we were able to describe associated changes to trypanosome morphology, cell cycle, motility as well as to its proteome and metabolome. This revealed that the initial life cycle transitions represent a continuous plastic process rather than a sequence of irreversible decisions. Furthermore, it let to identification of a molecule in the trypanosome environment, which is critical for triggering cell cycle arrest during these transitions. Thus, our work opens new possibilities to understand complex biology of this important human parasite.

Seminář Diego André Florian Joseph
2026-03-11 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“The Fall of the Helicase of Dicer”
Dicer is an RNase III endoribonuclease that processes pre-miRNAs and dsRNAs into small RNAs of ~21–28 nt, serving the miRNA and RNAi pathways. In mammals, Dicer’s ability to process long dsRNA is constrained by its helicase domain. Consequently, the miRNA pathway predominates, and RNAi is considered vestigial. This constraint comes from a crucial interaction between the HEL1 subdomain of Dicer and its catalytic domain, which maintains Dicer in a “closed” conformation, making it highly selective. In the absence of HEL1, Dicer adopts an “open” conformation that reduces substrate selectivity and activates RNAi. Until now, this was the only interaction known to confer substrate selectivity and restrict RNAi activity. Here, we show that Dicer contains an additional region within its helicase that contributes to substrate selectivity. Analysis of Dicer’s AlphaFold structure revealed four major intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) adopting loop-like conformations. IDR1 is enriched in negatively charged residues and is predicted to interact with the positively charged RNA substrate channel of Dicer. Removal of IDR1 recapitulates the phenotype observed in the absence of HEL1, suggesting that HEL1 subdomain is not the only region in Dicer responsible for substrate selectivity.

Seminář Srikant Ojha
2026-03-18 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Plectin Loss Disrupts Mechanotransduction and Attenuates
Hepatic Stellate Cell Activation”
Liver fibrosis, a hallmark of fibroproliferative disorders that contribute to nearly 45% of global mortality, is primarily driven by the activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs). In response to injury-induced tissue stiffening, HSCs undergo mechanosignaling-dependent activation and deposit excessive extracellular matrix (ECM), perpetuating a self-sustaining fibrotic loop. We sought to disrupt this process by targeting plectin, a cytolinker protein central to mechanotransduction. Using an HSC-specific plectin knockout (KO) mouse model, we observed significantly reduced ECM accumulation following carbon tetrachloride–induced injury. In vitro, plectin-deficient HSCs displayed impaired proliferation, migration, and focal adhesion formation. Single-cell transcriptomics further revealed attenuated activation signatures in KO HSCs. Together, our findings establish plectin as a key regulator of HSC mechanosignaling and highlight its potential as a therapeutic target to alleviate liver fibrosis.

Seminář Michael Sixt
2026-03-25 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Mechanic and energetic principles of leukocyte locomotion”
During metazoan development, immune surveillance and cancer dissemination, cells migrate in complex three-dimensional (3D) microenvironments. These are crowded by cells and extracellular matrix, generating mazes of differently sized spaces typically smaller than the diameter of the migrating cell. Most mesenchymal and epithelial cells actively generate their migratory path using pericellular tissue proteolysis and transmit traction forces via specific adhesion receptors. On the contrary, amoeboid cells such as leukocytes employ non-destructive strategies of locomotion and do not hold on to extracellular substrates. This raises the question how these extremely fast cells negotiate dense tissues. We discovered that leukocytes are able to migrate in the total absence of transmembrane force coupling. Instead, active deformations of the cell body can impose normal forces on the substrate and thereby generate propulsion. We are actively investigating how these normal forces are triggered and generated by the collective activity of the actin and microtuble cytoskeleton and develop new approaches to measure the energetic demands of the process.

Seminář Anna Zitová
2026-04-01 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Amphioxus point of view”
Light, a crucial environmental signal, that drives lives of myriad creatures upon the Earth, regulating processes such as circadian rhythms, reproductive cycles, and visually guided behaviors. We all perceive light through specialized cells called photoreceptors. Behold Amphioxus, who possesses several distinct types of photoreceptors. It is also considered one of the closest living likenesses to the last common ancestor of all vertebrates. Although it lacks many vertebrate-specific innovations, it has a simple body plan and homologous structures shared with vertebrates. In this discourse, we shall cast our gaze more narrowly upon these photoreceptors of Amphioxus, to unravel their function and inquire whether they may reveal some glimmer of the origins whence the vertebrate visual systems first took its light.

Seminář Lumír Krejčí
2026-04-08 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“Homologous Recombination – From repair of DSBs to processing stalled replication forks and human diseases”
Homologous recombination (HR) is a central genome maintenance pathway that safeguards DNA integrity during both double-strand break (DSB) repair and replication stress. A key intermediate of HR is the nucleoprotein filament formed by RAD51 on single-stranded DNA, which mediates homology search and strand invasion. During DSB repair RAD51 filament assembly is tightly regulated by mediator proteins, including BRCA2, and RAD51 paralogs, ensuring accurate repair using a homologous template and preventing genome instability. Beyond canonical DSB repair, HR plays a crucial role at stalled replication forks, where RAD51 stabilises nascent DNA, protects forks from nucleolytic degradation, and promotes fork reversal and restart. The dynamic regulation of RAD51 filament formation and disassembly at replication forks is essential for balancing protection and timely recovery of DNA synthesis. Dysregulation of these processes leads to pathological outcomes, including chromosomal instability and tumourigenesis. Defects in HR factors, particularly those controlling RAD51 filament dynamics, are strongly linked to human diseases such as cancer predisposition syndromes. Understanding how RAD51 orchestrates HR across different DNA damage contexts provides critical insights into genome stability mechanisms and offers therapeutic opportunities, including synthetic lethality-based cancer treatments.

Seminář Despoina Giamaki
2026-04-15 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“A hidden layer of chromatin regulation in neurological disease”
Genome stability and DNA repair are essential for human health. ADP-ribosylation is a key post-translational modification in the DNA damage response, regulated by PARP enzymes. Our research focuses on ARH3, an enzyme that removes mono-ADP-ribose from proteins, as its deficiency is linked to rare neurological disease. Using patient-derived cells, 3D brain organoids and mouse models, we show that loss of ARH3 leads to accumulation of mono-ADP-ribose on chromatin. Genome-wide analyses (CUT&Tag, spatial transcriptomic and RNA-seq) reveal that these changes alter gene expression and modulate other histone modifications. We further explore how these chromatin alterations affect responses to stress, including viral infections, potentially contributing to neuropathology. Our findings provide new insights into disease mechanisms and highlight ADP-ribosylation as a potential therapeutic target in neurological disorders.

Innovation Days in Bioscience Imaging – Vision for Life
2026-04-21 - 2026-04-23 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium

Seminář Karolina Kowalska
2026-04-22 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna 0.195 / Lecture room 0.195
“Mechanisms of MICAL regulation in actin filament disassembly”
Actin oxidation at specific methionine residues is a distinctive mechanism that drives actin filament disassembly. This process is mediated by the cytoskeletal effector MICAL, which selectively associates with and oxidizes actin filaments, thereby promoting their disassembly. MICAL-dependent actin oxidation is essential for axon guidance and also contributes to other biological processes, including angiogenesis, vesicle trafficking, and cytokinesis. Despite its broad biological importance, the molecular basis of MICAL regulation has remained unclear. In this talk, I will show how structural biology approaches, particularly cryo-EM, combined with biochemical assays, provide mechanistic insight into MICAL autoinhibition and its activation by Rab GTPases.

Lecture Jonathan W. Yewdell
2026-04-28 10:00 - 11:30 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
„How MHC I Peptides Are Generated for Viral and Cancer Immunosurveillance“
The talk focuses on peptide generation from DRiPs (defective ribosomal products), ribosomal generated polypeptides that don’t achieve folded stable forms and are proteolytically converted into peptides presented by MHC I molecules for CD8+ T cell immunosurveillance. Influenza A virus DRiPs will occupy center stage. I will discuss dozens of novel influenza virus gene products we discovered in characterizing DRiPs. These include PB1-F2, the granddaddy of flu alternative reading frame proteins, UFOs generated from host mRNA start codons, and most recently, numerous open reading frames encoded by the negative strand. The talk will conclude with a brief discussion of DRiPs and cancer, and the contribution of “immunoribosomes“ (subsets of ribosomes) to the cancer immuopeptidome.

Seminář Joe Howard
2026-04-29 15:00 - 16:00 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
“How molecular motors drive the motility of cilia and flagella”
Cilia and flagella are thin, rod-like organelles whose snake-like beating patterns drive cells through fluids and move fluids across cellular surfaces. They play essential roles in locomotion, sensory reception, and signaling. The core structure within the cilium, known as the axoneme, consists of nine pairs of doublet microtubules, a central pair of single microtubules, and a myriad of other proteins, including the axonemal dynein motor proteins, which generate the shear forces that slide adjacent doublets. A key question is how dynein activity is coordinated to produce the characteristic sinusoidal beating patterns. We are addressing this question through reconstitution and modeling, leveraging the genetics of the unicellular alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Methodological Seminar BIOCEV-Krč - Campus Animal Facility
2026-05-04 15:00 - 16:30 | Posluchárna Milana Haška / Milan Hašek Auditorium
Dear all,
we would like to invite you to the seminar as part of the „BIOCEV-Krč Methodological Seminar“:
Topic: „CAMPUS ANIMAL FACILITY“
Seminar program:
Animal Facility FGÚ: Martin Blažka
Animal Facility MBÚ: Alexandra Bartelik / Martin Schwarzer
Animal Facility ÚŽFG: Jiří Klíma
Animal Facility ÚEM: Andrej Litvinec
Animal Facility ÚMG: Libor Kopkan / Jan Honetschläger
The Animal facility methodological seminar will include a series of presentations by representatives of individual institutions located on the campus. Each institution will briefly present its local or detached animal facility and the services it provides.

AI-based Segmentation and Tracking
2026-05-19 - 2026-05-21 | IMG
Learn practical workflows for image segmentation, cell tracking, and denoising using modern deep-learning tools (StarDist, Cellpose, Omnipose, Noise2Void, DeepImageJ, TrackMate, Delta2, ZeroCostDL4MIc, Zeiss arivis Cloud).
More information & registration:
https://course.img.cas.cz/aist/
Registration deadline: May 4
Best regards,
Martin Čapek, Michaela Blažíková, Jan Valečka and Pavel Krist (Zeiss)

Super-Resolution in Light Microscopy - practical course
2026-06-08 - 2026-06-10 | IMG
Dear colleagues,

we would like to announce the upcoming practical course Super-Resolution in Light Microscopy (SLM 2026), which will take place June 8–10, 2026 at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Prague.

Some of you may know our EMBO Practical Course on Super-Resolution Microscopy, which we bi-annually organize at IMG. The SLM course is a complementary event focused primarily on extended hands-on training, allowing participants to spend more time working directly with the methods and data processing workflows.

The three-day course combines short theoretical introductions with practical sessions in small groups. Participants will work with several super-resolution approaches including SIM, SMLM, STED and optical reassignment methods – Airyscan and SoRa.

The practical sessions are organized in collaboration with the Microscopy unit at the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM CAS).

The course is open to an international audience and the number of participants is limited to 15 to ensure an intensive training format.

More information, programme and registration details are available here:
https://course.img.cas.cz/slm/

Registration deadline: May 5, 2026

Please feel free to share this announcement with colleagues who might be interested.

Best regards,

Ivan Novotny & Michaela Blazikova

Ivan Novotny, Ph.D. | Light Microscopy Core Facility

+420 296 44 3192, 3168

+420 777 270 279

ivan.novotny@img.cas.cz

www.img.cas.cz

Flow Cytometry Summer School
2026-06-22 - 2026-06-25 | IMG
