Analysis of FGF-signalling mechanisms in controlling cell migration in Drosophila

细胞在多细胞生物体中的位置受到严格控制。组织环境提供信息，告诉细胞是否分裂，变得能动或停留在原地。这种可塑性使生物体能够对变化的条件做出反应，如病原体攻击。因此，这种调节的失败可能导致严重的疾病。例如，在癌症期间，细胞离开组织中指定的位置，变得能动，侵入并最终破坏其他组织。因此，我们对细胞运动调节因子的了解对于治愈此类疾病至关重要。对遗传模式生物的研究表明，果蝇和人类细胞运动的分子调控非常相似，但这些调控因子在生物化学和遗传水平上调控细胞运动的方式尚不清楚。我们正在使用果蝇作为模型，目的是确定重要的监管机构及其作用模式。这些信息将提供一个基础，看看这些机制如何与人类的致病情况。这些结果将有助于更好地了解癌症等人类疾病，并最终对新的医学治疗方法的产生具有指导意义。

The position of cells within a multi-cellular organism is strictly controlled. The tissue environment provides information that tells the cells whether to divide, become motile or stay where they are. This plasticity enables the organism to react upon changing conditions, like pathogen attack. Consequently, a failure of this regulation may lead to severe diseases. During cancer, for example, cells leave their assigned position in a tissue, become motile, invade and eventually destroy other tissues. Our knowledge about the regulators of cell motility is therefore crucial for the cure of such diseases. Research on genetic model organisms has demonstrated that the molecular regulation of cell motility is very similar between flies and man. However the way these regulators govern cell motility on a biochemical and genetic level is not known. We are using the fruit fly as a model with the aim to identify the important regulators and their modes of action. This information will provide a basis to see how these mechanisms relate to pathogenic situations in humans. These results will lead to a better understanding of human diseases like cancer, and will eventually be instructive for the generation of new medical treatments.