Our lab studies the development and morphogenesis
of two highly proliferative tissues, the skin and
the intestine. Both of these tissues turn over rapidly
throughout adulthood, contain stem cells that contribute
to tissue homeostasis and both are common sites for
cancer development. We want to understand how both
cell shape and three-dimensional organization of
cells is achieved in these tissues to meet their
diverse functions.
- Asymmetric Cell Division
in the Epidermis
During
embryonic development epidermal cells divide in
two different ways – symmetrical
divisions increase
surface area as the embryo
grows, while asymmetric divisions promote
the formation of multiple cell layers. We want
to know: how are stereotypical orientations of
cell division/mitotis spindles achieved? how does
loss of asymmetric divisions affects tissue morphogenesis?
and how do cells choose which way to divide?
- Microtubule Organizations
and Cell Polarity
As cells
differentiate they often
change both their shape
and the organization
of their internal cytoskeleton.
We are studying how these diverse
shapes/organizations
are created and what
happens to these tissues if they
cannot organize their cytoskeleton
correctly.
In particular we are focusing
on the role of cell
adhesion in reorganization of
the microtubule cytoskeleton.
We use the mouse and cultured cells as our primary
models for these studies. This combination allows
us to understand both physiological relevance
and biological mechanisms. Using conditional
knockout and transgenic technology, we observe the
morphogenetic process in living animals/tissues and
try to understand its molecular basis. A combination
of live cell and animal imaging, cell biology, organ
culture, mouse genetics and biochemistry are
used to address these problems.
