"
Team:MIT/nocontent
From 2011.igem.org
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{MIT-header}} | {{MIT-header}} | ||
| - | + | A hallmark of higher order organisms is the appearance of cell populations that interact with one another to form multi-cellular structures. However, although many scientists have studied these interactions, it has been very difficult to engineer multicellularity. This year, we aim to elucidate the engineering of multi-cellular mammalian systems through the study of two well-known and highly-conserved signalling motifs, the Notch-Delta signalling pathway and G-Protein Coupled Receptors. Our goal is to integrate the extracellular environment into our circuits to influence the emergence of specific self-assembling cell patterns by engineering these pathways. From these efforts, we will produce a proof of principle for tissue design and will look to pursue higher level tissue formation for application in therapeutics. | |
Revision as of 20:54, 15 July 2011
A hallmark of higher order organisms is the appearance of cell populations that interact with one another to form multi-cellular structures. However, although many scientists have studied these interactions, it has been very difficult to engineer multicellularity. This year, we aim to elucidate the engineering of multi-cellular mammalian systems through the study of two well-known and highly-conserved signalling motifs, the Notch-Delta signalling pathway and G-Protein Coupled Receptors. Our goal is to integrate the extracellular environment into our circuits to influence the emergence of specific self-assembling cell patterns by engineering these pathways. From these efforts, we will produce a proof of principle for tissue design and will look to pursue higher level tissue formation for application in therapeutics.
