Regulation of cell adhesion during Xenopus morphogenesis

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The ability to move is a basic property of cells. For a cell to change position it must adhere to and translocate on the extra-cellular environment. The integrins are a family of cell adhesion molecules that are active in cell movements, and the regulation of integrin adhesion is important for cells to move effectively. The mechanisms by which integrins are regulated is poorly understood, but it is known to require signals that stem from both outside and within cells. Understanding these signals and how they are generated and processed is key to understanding cell movements that are central to embryonic development, wound healing as well as disease progression. In my research program, I investigate how cells interpret and respond to their immediate environment. More importantly, I also study how cells themselves create or modify their environment altering their future behavior. I will investigate how growth factors promote integrin receptor turnover in migrating cells through the recruitment of the cytoplasmic protein kermit2. Second, I will look at how integrins transmit intracellular signals through a complex of proteins (PIP complex), and how those signals affect other forms of cell adhesion. Finally, I will isolate components of the PIP complex and ask what is the individual contribution of these components to integrin signaling. I address these objectives using both molecular and advanced imaging techniques to obtain unique information on molecular dynamics within a cell in the context of multi-cellular tissues. Together these projects will provide novel interpretations of how cell adhesion is modulated in complex tissues.