TGFβ superfamily signalling in pluripotency and differentiation of human embryonic stem cells

[摘要] The discovery of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) 20 years ago (Thomson, 1998), has significantly benefited the field of stem cell biology (Ilic and Ogilvie, 2017). Despite ethical (and legal in some cases) obstacles, therapies utilising hESCs and their derivatives are attempting to tackle several diseases (Ilic and Ogilvie, 2017). The TGFβ superfamily is known to be implicated in crucial decisions from early development of the embryo to the adult life (Mullen and Wrana, 2017). ACTIVIN A and BMP4 are two members of this superfamily and their activation status has an important impact on hESCs (James, 2005). On the one hand, ACTIVIN A is associated with the maintenance of the undifferentiated state (James et al., 2005), (Beattie et al., 2005), while on the other BMP4 is considered a differentiation stimulus (Xu et al., 2002), (Yu et al., 2011), (Richter et al., 2014). The aim of this thesis is to study in depth several key cellular responses of hESCs to BMP4 and investigate the role of SARA, a TGFβ signalling mediator (Tsukazaki et al., 1998) in pluripotency and differentiation.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of Biosciences

[关键词] Q Science;QH Natural history;QH426 Genetics