Regenerating lizard tails: A model for understanding the process of lymphangiogenesis. In humans, impaired lymphatic drainage in limbs causes the debilitating swelling termed lymphoedema. Lymphoedema affects 500,000,000 people worldwide. In the developed world lymphoedema predominantly results from surgery for cancer, and occurs in approximately 25% of breast cancer patients. We will examine lymph vessel regeneration (lymphangiogenesis) in a naturally regenerating, complex structure (the lizard ....Regenerating lizard tails: A model for understanding the process of lymphangiogenesis. In humans, impaired lymphatic drainage in limbs causes the debilitating swelling termed lymphoedema. Lymphoedema affects 500,000,000 people worldwide. In the developed world lymphoedema predominantly results from surgery for cancer, and occurs in approximately 25% of breast cancer patients. We will examine lymph vessel regeneration (lymphangiogenesis) in a naturally regenerating, complex structure (the lizard tail), to describe the regrowth process and determine the abundance, location, functional properties and molecular control of the new lymphatics. Furthermore, if reptilian lymphatic growth factors can promote lymphangiogenesis in mammals, we can design novel therapeutic approaches using reptilian ligands to promote lymphangiogenesis in lymphoedematous human tissues.Read moreRead less
Unified framework of intestinal motility. The project aims to establish how a few fundamental mechanisms determine the large repertoire of intestinal motor patterns responsible for moving nutrients along the digestive tract. The project will combine experimental and theoretical data, with biomechanical and electrophysiological models to create a new understanding of this essential function of the body.
Does muscle contribute to the maintenance of vitamin D status in winter? This project aims to test the mechanism by which vitamin D status is maintained in winter when input is low. The long half-life in blood of the vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], maintains an adequate vitamin D status over winter, when sunlight, which produces vitamin D in skin, is reduced. From preliminary data in sheep and mice, this project proposes that skeletal muscle, not fat, stores vitamin D. This ....Does muscle contribute to the maintenance of vitamin D status in winter? This project aims to test the mechanism by which vitamin D status is maintained in winter when input is low. The long half-life in blood of the vitamin D metabolite, 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D], maintains an adequate vitamin D status over winter, when sunlight, which produces vitamin D in skin, is reduced. From preliminary data in sheep and mice, this project proposes that skeletal muscle, not fat, stores vitamin D. This project will test this hypothesis in sheep, cultured muscle cells and in transgenic mice. The project will confirm whether the processes identified in skeletal muscle contribute to the maintenance of vitamin D status, and identify ways of enhancing this process.Read moreRead less