Intelligent and adaptive: how do cells in tissues (re)organize themselves?

Cell Biology

Cells in tissues exhibit stochastic and collective behaviors and seem capable of "self-organization". What drives distinct cell behaviours? How do cells sense their neighborhood and adapt to perturbations (like cell division, death, wounds) they encounter? What rules do they follow when doing so? Cells communicate using a combination of chemical and physical cues and "cell junctions" containing adhesion molecules can transduce both. How do contact or chemicals mediate changes in cell behavior? Do they work alone or together? We study design principles of cellular reorganization accompanying Drosophila morphogenesis and mouse embryonic stem (ES) cell differentiation using a combination of genetics, live confocal microscopy, biophysical perturbations, computational and theoretical approaches facilitated by quantitative analysis and collaborations with theoretical and experimental physicists.

Publications

1. Narasimha M, Uv A, Krejci A, Brown NH, Bray SJ (2008) Grainy head promotes expression of septate junction proteins and influences epithelial morphogenesis. Journal of Cell Science 121: 747
2. Seher TC, Narasimha M, Vogelsang E, Leptin M (2007) Analysis and reconstitution of the genetic cascade controlling early mesoderm morphogenesis in the Drosophila embryo. Mechanisms of Development 124: 167
3. Narasimha M, Brown NH (2006) Confocal microscopy of Drosophila embryos. In "Cell biology: a laboratory handbook", Third Edition. Julio De Celis, Editor, Academic Press. 3: 77
4. Narasimha M, Brown NH (2004) Novel functions for integrins in epithelial morphogenesis. Current Biology 14: 381
5. Torgler C, Narasimha M, Knox AL, Vernon M, Zervas C, Brown NH (2004) Drosophila tensin stabilizes integrin contacts in Drosophila. Developmental Cell 6: 357