CBM
Group of intestinal morphogenesis and homeostasis
Our main scientific interest is the understanding of intestinal morphogenesis and cellular polarity during morphogenesis, homeostasis and regeneration, as well as their implications in human diseases, such as intestinal bowel diseases (IBD), obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Our research is based is the organotypic culture model of three-dimensional epithelial cells growing in micropatterns “organ-on-a-chip”, which are becoming one of the best in vitro models systems for the investigation of epithelial morphogenesis. Moreover, with this system we are obtaining essential information about the molecular mechanisms that regulate epithelial morphogenesis. However, this model cannot reconstitute the complexity of the architecture given in vivo, which includes different cell types, dynamic remodeling and tissue homeostasis. For this reason, the use of in vivo systems should serve to validate and better characterize the phenotypes observed in vitro. We used the zebrafish and mouse intestine as models systems to elucidate epithelial morphogenesis and intestinal homeostasis.
We are focused on the analysis of genes that regulate epithelial polarity during morphogenesis and intestinal homeostasis, and particularly those controlling the following processes: membrane trafficking, mechanical forces and metabolic remodeling. Therefore, my lab is focused on:
-Characterization of signaling pathways for epithelial morphogensis, differantiation and patterning
-Analysis of cellular mechanics controlling lumen formation in epithelial cells
-Study of the metabolic reprogramming that takes place along intestinal development and homeostasis.
-Characterization of the metabolic crosstalk among microbiota, epithelial cells, and immune cells controlling the intestinal homeostasis.
