Guest Editors
Chandrashekar Kuyyamudi
Harvard University, Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology
Chandrashekar Kuyyamudi is currently a postdoctoral researcher in the Extavour Lab at Harvard University. He received his PhD from the Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai, India. For his PhD, he explored the role of intercellular coupling in various developmental contexts using in silico methods. Currently he works on pole cell formation, pole cell migration, larval ovary development using quantitative experimental techniques and mathematical models to gain insights about the mechanisms driving these processes. In the past he has worked on time series analysis of NYSE stock prices, epidemic spread on complex networks, etc.
Emily Rivard
Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Emily Rivard is a Ph.D. candidate in the department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at Harvard University. She received her A.B. in Biology at the College of the Holy Cross, where she studied the functional significance of newly evolved genes in Drosophila spermatogenesis with Dr. Geoffrey Findlay. She is currently in the lab of Dr. Cassandra Extavour, studying the evolution of germ line genes in insects. Her dissertation project interrogates the functional evolution of oskar, a gene required for germ cell specification and/or neurogenesis in different insect species.
Anastasia Repouliou
Harvard University, Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology
Anastasia Repouliou is a Ph.D. candidate in the lab of Dr. Cassandra Extavour at Harvard University. She received her A.B. in Molecular Biology from Princeton University in 2018, where she worked on modulating stress granule dynamics through bioengineering in the lab of Dr. Cliff Brangwynne. Her Ph.D. dissertation focuses on the molecular mechanism of Oskar, the protein that is critical for the assembly and localization of germ plasm in Drosophila melanogaster. Her interests lie in how macromolecules use their biophysical properties and mechanical cues in their local microenvironment to coordinate their functions on a large-scale.
Collection Overview
Cellular plasticity refers to the ability of cells to undergo phenotypic changes in response to environmental cues without any accompanying alterations in the genotype. This phenomenon plays a crucial role in ensuring the robustness of developmental processes and is implicated in various physiological contexts, including wound repair, tissue regeneration, and disease progression.
In the context of wound repair, undamaged cells sense tissue damage and modify their phenotype to facilitate the healing process. Additionally, cellular plasticity enables regenerative organisms like Planaria to regenerate whole body parts and allows unique human organs, such as the liver, to respond to injury. In diseases like cancer, plasticity plays a significant role in tumor initiation, progression, and resistance to therapeutic interventions.
Researchers synergistically employ a combination of traditional and cutting-edge techniques to investigate the mechanisms underlying cellular plasticity. For instance, using laser ablation with quantitative microscopy has enhanced our understanding of the repair process. Scratch assays combined with advanced transcriptomics have shed light on the gene expression changes underlying cell fate transitions.
Genetic and molecular tools from established model systems have been adapted for emerging model organisms such as Hofstenia and in vitro systems like organoids. Furthermore, the analysis of large, multi-dimensional datasets obtained from methods like spatial transcriptomics and quantitative live imaging requires developing novel computational tools. However, the diverse and innovative nature of these techniques poses challenges to their widespread implementation.
In this JoVE Methods Collection, our objective is to promote the accessibility of these tools by sharing high-quality, reproducible protocols that can be utilized in laboratories lacking in-house expertise.
Articles
Isolation and Culture of Mouse Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells
0 Views
•
2026
•
Esthefanny Escudero-Guevara1,2, Hermes Sandoval1,2, Jesenia Acurio1, Felipe Troncoso1, Rodrigo Moore-Carrasco2,3,4, Carlos Escudero1,4,5
1Department of Basic Sciences, Vascular Physiology Laboratory, 2Biomedical Sciences Doctorate Program, Universidad de Talca, 3Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Talca, 4Group of Research and Innovation in Vascular Health, GRIVAS Health, 5Consortium for Research and Innovation Neurovascular (NEUROVAS)