Project #9
The importance of basement membranes for cardiovascular development and disease
Congential heart disease affects approximately one percent of all children born worldwide. This multidisciplinary project will combine novel 3D imaging, using synchrotron-based phase contrast micro-CT, with cell and molecular biology for improved understanding of congenital heart defects and cardiovascular function. The primary focus will be the importance of basement membranes for cardiovascular development and disease.
Specifically, we will explore the importance of the basement membrane component laminin by use of mice that lack the laminin delta-1 subunit in cardiomyocytes and smooth muscle cells (SMCs) or lack the laminin alpha2 subunit, as seen in certain forms of human muscular dystrophy.
Preliminary synchrotron-based imaging data shows heart defects in the mutant mice. Those defects will be explored in detail and tissue sections, as well as isolated primary cells from the mouse strains, will be used for mechanistic studies.
Novel techniques to integrate molecular biology with advanced 3D imaging to understand extracellular matrix deposition and regulatory mechanisms in a three dimensional context will also be developed.
Main Principal Investigator
Co-supervisors
Karin Tran-Lundmark
Principal Investigator
Phone: +46 70 766 31 71