Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory

Redox-Sensitive Developmental Pathways and Gene Regulatory Networks

James A. Coffman, Ph.D.
jcoffman@mdibl.org

Project Description

This project utilizes a sea urchin embryo model to study biological pathways through which redox stressors perturb ectodermal patterning and affect human diseases including diabetes and alcohol abuse. The ectodermal cell fate along the oral-aboral axis of the sea urchin embryo is specified via a redox-sensitive regulatory network and can be specifically perturbed by redox stressors such as metal ions and hypoxia. This research will identify a redox-sensitive transcriptome via a microarray approach and employ the Comparative Toxicogenomics Database to determine the relevance of the pathways discovered in sea urchins to human health. This grant is of interest to both the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) and NIEHS and will be funded by both institutes.