We are pleased to invite you to a lecture by Dr. Nikolina Stojanović, entitled “KANK2 Localization Determines Cell Fate: to Move or to Stay in Place”, which will take place immediately before the Regular Assembly of the HDBMB, on 29 April 2026 at 2:15 p.m., in the lecture hall of the Institute for Medical Research and Occupational Health, Ksaverska cesta 2, HR-10000 Zagreb.
The lecturer’s biography and abstract are provided below:
Nikolina Stojanović is a research associate at the Ruđer Bošković Institute in Zagreb, employed in the Laboratory for Cell Biology and Signal Transduction, Division of Molecular Biology. She obtained her PhD in 2014 in the field of cell biology. She is the author and co-author of 20 scientific papers published in internationally indexed journals. Her research focuses on the mechanisms of cell adhesion and migration, with particular emphasis on the role of integrin adhesion complexes in cytoskeletal organization and the regulation of dynamic cellular processes.
Lecture Abstract
Cells attach to their surroundings through specialized structures called adhesions, which are formed by different types of integrins and have distinct cellular localizations: focal adhesions at the cell periphery and fibrillar adhesions in the center of the cell. Talin1 is essential for focal adhesions, while talin2 is present in both focal and fibrillar adhesions. Proteins of the KANK family regulate adhesion dynamics by linking talins with microtubules. Our research examined the different roles of KANK2 in focal and fibrillar adhesions, focusing on its interactions with integrins and talins. We showed that in RPMI-7951 cells, which form αVβ5 focal adhesions and α5β1 fibrillar adhesions, KANK2 is present in both types of adhesions. KANK2 supports the maintenance of αVβ5 focal adhesions via talin1 and regulates their dynamics via talin2. KANK2 is also an integral component of α5β1 fibrillar adhesions, and its depletion mimics integrin α5 silencing and enhances cell migration, a process that depends on microtubules. In conclusion, our research shows that KANK2 has distinct roles in different adhesion structures, contributing to the function of both focal and fibrillar adhesions.
