Entradas

Publicado el

Rocío Pérez Gómez

I am very interested in the role of Sp6 and Sp8, two members of the Specificity family of transcription factors that are necessary for limb development. The gradual reduction of Sp6;Sp8 gene dosage results in progressively more severe limb morphologies that go from a mild syndactyly, to Split Hand Foot Malformation, truncation and finally amelia. These malformations associate not only proximo-distal but also dorso-ventral defects.
To understand the Sp dependent regulatory network in the limb ectoderm I have focused on Sp8 and characterized its direct transcriptional activity by combining genome-wide ChIP-seq and RNA-seq analyses. The identified set of Sp8 direct target genes includes all major regulators of proximo-distal and dorso-ventral limb patterning, highlighting the complex mechanisms by which Sps connect both axis in limb patterning. I aim to validate Sp8 mode of action as well as to identify Sp6 direct target genes.

Phone: [+34] 942 206799 ext. 127
Email: rocio.perezg@unican.es

Work pictures

Split-hand/split-foot malformation displayed by Sp6;Sp8 compound mutants.
Publicado el

Marc Fernández Guerrero

A central mechanism regulating the morphogenesis of many organs is the establishment of reciprocal interactions between a single-layered epithelium and the underlying mesenchymal cells. During limb development a specialized thickened epithelium arises in the distal edge of the bud, this is the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Communication between the AER and the distal mesoderm is considered the most remarkable epithelial-mesenchymal interaction in the formation of the limb. The crucial function of the AER, as a signaling center, has not only been revealed by extirpation experiments but also by genetic ablation of its molecular mediators, such as Fgf8, revealing its role in proximo-distal patterning in the limb. Nevertheless, the genetic interactions between the AER and the underlying mesenchyme throughout the bud to limb transition are still poorly understood. I am currently studying the temporal transcriptome of the AER and the subAER mesoderm in order to identify temporal responses and changes in the cellular networks in both compartments and therefore the interactions between them.

Phone: [+34] 942 206799 ext. 127
Email: marc.fernandez@unican.es

Publicado el

Mª Félix Bastida, Ph.D.

Dr. Bastida research interest is to understand the interaction and crosstalk among the major signaling pathways operating in limb development. In particular the interactions in the posterior limb bud that lead to the activation of Shh. She found that BMP signalling negatively regulates Shh transcription and that this function is achieved indirectly at least in part by interfering with the FGF and WNT signaling pathways. Since Bmps are known targets of SHH, she described a negative feedback loop operating between BMPs and SHH to control Shh expression. She also showed that Bmp expression is positively regulated by FGF signaling and subject to an auto-regulatory loop therefore placing Bmp activity as an important point of crosstalk between the SHH, WNT and FGF pathways in the posterior limb bud mesoderm. At present she is further exploring the cross-regulation and integration of multiple signaling pathways during limb formation.

Phone: [+34] 942 206799 ext. 127
Email: mariafelix.bastida@unican.es 

Work pictures

Specific expression patterns of different Bmp family members during middle stages of chick wing development.
Publicado el

M. A. Fernández-Terán, M.D., Ph.D.

Dr. Fernández-Terán research interests include pattern formation during limb development an area in which she has been working over the past several decades. Among her contributions are the identification of the role Hand2 plays in limb development and in establishing the initial limb prepatterning and the role of the mesonephros. She also performed a comprehensive analysis of the patterns of cell death and cell proliferation during a wide period of chick and mouse limb development. Currently she is focusing in the function of the non-AER ectoderm during limb development and she is collaborating with several ongoing projects in the lab.

Phone: [+34] 942 201925
Email: angeles.fernandez@unican.es

Work pictures

Areas of apoptosis detected by TUNEL in a chick wing bud of 4 days of incubation.
Publicado el

Marian Ros, M.D., Ph.D.

Marian Ros is Full Professor and Chair of the Department of Molecular & Cellular Signaling at the IBBTEC. Prof. Ros completed her MD degree with honors at the University of Cantabria in 1982 and received her PhD degree from the same university in 1986. After a postdoctoral stay at the laboratory of John Fallon (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA) studying the roles of Msx and Hox genes in limb development, she established her own research group devoted to understand the molecular basis of morphogenesis: how the formation of a particular form or structure is genetically and molecularly controlled during vertebrate development. Using the limb as a paradigm, Prof. Ros lab has provided relevant information on the molecules and mechanisms contributing to shape an organ, always with a translational interest towards disease, repair and regeneration. Prof. Ros has always combined research with education teaching Human Anatomy and Embryology, Neuroanatomy and Developmental Biology to undergraduate and graduate students. Prof. Ros is member of the Royal Academy of Medicine of Cantabria and the awardee of the 2013 Prize of Investigation Consejo Social de la Universidad de Cantabria.