"Mechanisms Governing Organ Size Dynamics" Seminar with Sashank Reddy

Description

The Institute for NanoBioTechnology (INBT) is hosting a seminar with Sashank Reddy, INBT associate director, on "Mechanisms Governing Organ Size Dynamics in the Skin."

Reddy is also the senior medical director at Johns Hopkins Technology Ventures and an assistant professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery and biomedical engineering.

Abstract:

Uniquely among mammalian organs, skin is capable of dramatic size changes in adulthood, yet the mechanisms underlying this striking capacity are unclear. The Reddy lab recently developed a method to induce controlled skin growth in genetically tractable mice. Using machine learning-guided three dimensional tissue reconstruction, they discovered that skin growth is driven by proliferation of the epidermis in response to mechanical tension, with more limited changes in dermal and subdermal compartments. Epidermal growth is in turn achieved through preferential activation and differentiation of Lgr6+ stem cells of the epidermis, controlled in part by the Hippo pathway. Single-cell RNA sequencing uncovered further changes in mechanosensitive and metabolic pathways underlying growth control in skin. These studies point to therapeutic strategies to enhance skin growth and establish a platform for understanding organ size dynamics in adult mammals.

Those who cannot attend in person can watch the seminar on Zoom. Go to the INBT website for link information.