Signalling cross-talk regulating migration and fate choice in cardiac progenitor cells
Professor Andrea Munsterberg is working out which molecules and signals play a role in heart formation in the developing embryo. Early on, immature cells that will form the heart, called progenitor ‘master’ cells, are instructed by signals in the body to move to their target destination, the developing heart, and to adopt a heart identity. Scientists can watch this in real time in chick embryos. Professor Munsterberg has found two important signals, Wnt3a and BMP, are crucial to guide the movement of these cells in early heart formation. If these signals are interfered with, the heart does not form properly. Professor Munsterberg believes there is another signalling pathway involved, a protein called fibroblast growth factor (FGF), which acts through an enzyme called MAPK. In this project, she will use a combination of experimental approaches to work out how all these signals interact and how, collectively, they control the correct migration of cells towards the heart and ensure they develop into heart cells. This research will reveal how these signalling pathways work together to ensure ‘master’ cells are correctly guided to become functioning heart cells during embryo development. Understanding how the heart develops in the embryo could give clues about ways to repair a damaged heart in adulthood.
Project details
| Grant amount | £198,111 |
|---|---|
| Grant type | Project Grants |
| Application type | Project Grant |
| Start Date | 01 February 2016 |
| Duration | 3 years |
| Reference | PG/15/77/31761 |
| Status | Complete |
