Developmental Biology
Faculty
Claudia Kappen, Dr. rer. nat.
Research Focus
The focus of this lab is to understand the mechanisms by which maternal disease and nutrition during pregnancy affects development of the embryo. Diabetes and obesity in the mother are associated with greater risk for birth defects in the offspring, in particular heart defects and neural tube defects. This indicates that the embryo is exquisitely sensitive to perturbations in the uterine environment, as manifested in perturbed gene regulation and abnormal growth.
Distressed pregnancies also appear to 'program' exposed individuals for heath problems later in adult life.
About this Lab
Recent evidence from this lab has identified several processes in pregnancies with adverse nutritional and metabolic exposures, including the identification of altered cell differentiation and gene expression in the placenta as a possible mediator in altered nutrient transport; altered nutrient transport is also a major risk factor for birth defects even before the placenta is formed, and we are currently studying the underlying cellular abnormalities. Additionally, we identified in the embryo proper impaired cell migration during gastrulation, when the precursors of major organ systems are formed, as a unifying explanation for birth defects in diabetic pregnancies. Lab members are characterizing molecular causes for impaired migration at the single-cell level. The lab is also investigating embryonic gene expression to identify the earliest responses to altered nutrition, with a focus on pathways that interfere with proper closure of the neural tube. Ongoing studies on diet composition and vitamin supplementation have the aim to understand how beneficial factors may be used in birth defects and disease prevention through optimized nutrition.
The research program has a second focus on fundamental mechanisms in patterning of the embryonic body plan, in particular in the axial skeleton.
The lab uses a wide variety of approaches, including imaging, histological techniques, molecular biology, bioinformatics, and mouse genetics and genomics.
