Interrogating Cell-Cell Interactions in the Salivary Gland via Ex Vivo Live Cell Imaging

My research delves into the immune system’s role in regeneration and repair. I focus on understanding how macrophages interact with epithelial progenitor cells during salivary gland regeneration injury, and how this interaction shapes the repair process. Within the fields of immunology and regenerative medicine, recent clinical trials based at the University of Edinburgh have shown that delivery of macrophages as a therapy for liver psoriasis is effective in reducing liver scarring, and is a viable treatment for liver failure.

Using and ex vivo precision cut slice culture model coupled with live imaging of fluorescent-labeled cells, allows us to explore cell-to-cell interactions in real-time, but in a state that closely resembles tissue in vivo. Understanding the localization of macrophages after injury gives us an idea of what cell types macrophages preferentially interact with after injury. This ultimately allows us to use other methods, such as single-cell RNA sequencing analysis, to try and unravel the molecular basis of such interactions to inform future therapeutic options.

We will explore the bidirectional signaling between macrophages and epithelial cells and test whether saliva gland homeostasis can be rescued by exogenous replacement of these missing signals.