Signalling in Tissue Repair and Cancer
In many tissues, cancers arise on the background of chronic disease. During this disease process tissues must repair and regenerate a number of times. In order to repair damage, tissues form regenerative microenvironments that involve both scar forming cells (fibroblasts) and inflammatory cells. These different cell types need to work together to properly regulate the repair process. As cancers develop, many of these scarring cells and inflammatory cells are involved in forming the stroma of the tumour, which is thought to support tumour growth, making targeting the stroma an attractive option in the clinic.
Our lab is interested in how the signals, which come from the regenerative microenvironment drive tissue repair following injury and how these signals are co-opted by the tumour to support cancer growth. We are particularly interested in the role of the Wnt pathway in these processes. Whilst previously we have focused on the role of the canonical Wnt cascade, we are now looking at how the lesser-described, non-canonical pathways are able to contribute to both tissue regeneration and cancer, with the ultimate aim of developing therapies that will target these molecules to reduce underlying disease and cancer.
People |
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| Luke Boulter | IGMM Chancellor's Fellowship and Principle Investigator |
| Edward Jarman | Research Fellow |
| David Wilson | Senior Research Assistant |
| Ronan Mellin | PhD Student |
| Nicholas Younger | PhD Student |
Cholangiocarcinoma, liver, intestine, Wnt signalling
Cancer Models, Organoids, Quantitative Imaging, Pathologist
