Investigating the impact of XtSulf1 on canonical and non-canonical Wnt signalling

所有动物的细胞都被一种粘性基质包围，这种基质将它们聚集在一起，帮助将信息从一个细胞传递到另一个细胞。我们已经发现，当这个矩阵被修改时，小区不能再接收消息，或者，另一方面，有时消息被更有效地接收。我们正在研究一种名为XtSulf1的基因，这种基因可以制造一种酶，重新构建细胞上的基质。我们想知道这种酶是否会改变细胞对一种名为Wnt的信息的反应能力。我们将确切地调查XtSulf1对WNT的影响。参与这些过程的所有参与者都很重要，我们希望确定在细胞和消息级别发生了什么。众所周知，Wnt信息对胚胎的正常发育、干细胞在培养中的生长非常重要，也被认为在疾病中受到错误调控：因此，很好地理解这一信息是如何控制的，对于开发新的医学疗法和促进再生医学将是重要的。

Cells in all animals are surrounded by a sticky matrix that holds them together and helps in relaying messages from one cell to another. We have found that when this matrix is modified messages can no longer be received by a cell or, on the other hand, sometimes messages are received more efficiently. We are working on a gene called XtSulf1 that makes an enzyme that re-structures the matrix on cells. We want to know whether this enzyme will change the ability of a cell to respond to a message called Wnt. We will investigate exactly what underlies the effects of XtSulf1 on Wnt. All the players involved in these processes are important and we want to determine what is happening at the level of the cell and the messages. The Wnt message is known to be important for embryos to develop properly, for stem cells to grow in culture and is also known to be mis-regulated in disease: therefore a good understanding of how this message can be controlled will be important in developing new medical therapies and for the advancement of regenerative medicine.