Deciphering The Metabolic And Endocrine Profile Of Healthy Adipocytes
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$563,194.00
Summary
Obesity is associated with the development of metabolic diseases, however, it is becoming clear that it is where the excess fat is stored that is more important when predicting the health risks associated with obesity. This project aims to identify whether adipocyte progenitor cells, which eventually become fat cells, are ‘preprogrammed’ and whether differences in these cells explain the generation of either healthy or unhealthy fat in different locations of the body.
Tissue-dependent Proregenerative Mechanisms In Adult Vertebrates
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$638,742.00
Summary
This proposal addresses how immune cells participate in regeneration of damaged organs in adult zebrafish. Unlike mammals, zebrafish have a remarkable capacity to regenerate their various body parts in adulthood, providing a model to understand how regeneration capacity might be induced in humans. The proposed study will define mechanisms of immune-mediated regeneration that could provide new cellular and molecular targets for stimulating replacement of damaged organs in the human injury setting
Development Of New Heart Failure Therapeutics By Analysing Signalling In Heart Failure As A Network
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$314,965.00
Summary
After detailed analysis of cell signalling in diseased heart tissue we will facilitate the discovery of new therapeutic drug targets to stop the progression of heart failure in its early stages. It is hoped that the detailed analysis of heart failure signalling as a network rather than as individual pathways will enable the discovery of drugs which are more successful in stopping the progression of heart failure than the currently available drugs.
Defining The Molecular Regulation Of Muscle Stem Cell Action During Organ Growth
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$738,259.00
Summary
How do organs grow to develop a complex cellular structure. Organ growth needs a careful balance between cell commitment and stem cell self renewal to maintain tissue growth trajectories. How this balance is achieved at the cellular and molecular level remains unresolved for most organ systems. This application studies a specific stem cell pool within the zebrafish myotome and how it is used to drive organ growth.
Molecular And Functional Characterisation Of Induced Multipotent Stem Cells
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$694,428.00
Summary
We have developed a new method to convert fat and other cell types into stem cells that can repair damaged tissues. We call these cells, induced multipotent stem cells or iMS cells. In this project we will identify the molecular changes that occur in a mature cell as it converts into a stem cell and the extent to which iMS contribute to different tissue types. These investigations will lay the foundation for human clinical trials using iMS cells.
Role Of Plzf – Sall4 Interactions In Germline Progenitor Function And Development
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$565,079.00
Summary
PLZF and SALL4 are critical stem cell factors and mutations in these genes are associated with developmental defects and cancer. SALL4 mutations are responsible for the malformation disease Duane-radial ray syndrome, while PLZF mutations lead to severe defects in the skeleton and gonads. We surprisingly found that PLZF and SALL4 interact and oppose each other’s functions. Our study of PLZF–SALL4 crosstalk will provide important insight into infertility, developmental disorders and cancer.
The Regulation And Function Of Cadherin-mediated Adhesion Within The Zebrafish Myotome.
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$436,773.00
Summary
Co-ordinating how cells interact with their neighbours and where different cells are positioned within an organ is the role of proteins termed cell adhesion molecules. They delineate and sort cells into different groups depending on which cell adhesion molecules are expressed on their surface. Cell adhesion molecules are also important during the onset of disease, in particular cancer, where the levels and type of cell adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of a cancer cell can determine ho ....Co-ordinating how cells interact with their neighbours and where different cells are positioned within an organ is the role of proteins termed cell adhesion molecules. They delineate and sort cells into different groups depending on which cell adhesion molecules are expressed on their surface. Cell adhesion molecules are also important during the onset of disease, in particular cancer, where the levels and type of cell adhesion molecules expressed on the surface of a cancer cell can determine how invasive or aggressive the cancer cell will become. However, despite the fundamental importance that cell adhesion plays in sorting out cells in every tissue, the exact basis of cell migratory behaviours that occur within the intact organism remain poorly defined. We have examined the ability of specific members of a particular class of cell adhesion molecules, the classical Cadherins, to control formation of muscle. To do this we have examined muscle formation within embryos of the zebrafish, a small embryologically accessible fresh water fish. We have determined how different cadherin molecules co-ordinate the final pattern of the myotome, the structure that gives rise to the majority of muscle in the early embryo. We have determined that differential cell adhesion drives cell sorting of specific muscle cell types via differential use of members of the classical cadherin family of proteins. This study aims to look further at the way that these proteins are regulated in different muscle cells of the forming body. By understanding how these molecules regulate cell sorting and adhesion within the zebrafish myotome we hope to be able to apply this knowledge to how these molecules control the formation of more complex tissues. Furthermore, we believe the implication of specific signalling pathways in the control of cadherin gene expression has particular implications for the role these proteins play in the progression of metastatic cancer.Read moreRead less