Active Transport Of Calcium Across Dental Enamel Cells - Testing A New Paradigm
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$258,000.00
Summary
Dental enamel defects and tooth loss affect over half our population, resulting in substantial suffering and economic costs. It is likely that many enamel defects could be prevented, and replacement teeth made more lifelike, if more was known about the cells responsible for producing enamel. A particular problem is our lack of understanding about how enamel-forming cells avoid overdosing on calcium, which can lead to cellular toxicity. The overall aim of this research is to use the latest cell b ....Dental enamel defects and tooth loss affect over half our population, resulting in substantial suffering and economic costs. It is likely that many enamel defects could be prevented, and replacement teeth made more lifelike, if more was known about the cells responsible for producing enamel. A particular problem is our lack of understanding about how enamel-forming cells avoid overdosing on calcium, which can lead to cellular toxicity. The overall aim of this research is to use the latest cell biology and biochemical techniques to elucidate the mechanisms of calcium handling in enamel cells, with developing teeth from rat as the experimental model. Our focus is on calcium transport mechanisms, a field where past theories were overturned by our recent findings with gene-knockout animals. We will test a new theory that has arisen from our investigations, using drugs and gene-silencing techniques to interfere with the cellular machinery now thought to be crucial for transporting calcium. By providing strong physiological evidence for this new mechanism, our expected results will define specific proteins that might be targeted by drugs and nutrition, and provide important information about how dietary fluoride and caffeine affect enamel quality. These findings would change thinking about how enamel defects can be prevented and provide a solid foundation to the exciting new field of dental bioengineering, whose goal is to coax stem cells to make natural replacement teeth.Read moreRead less
Biomathematical Analysis Of Cell Invasion: Migration Of Neural Crest Cells To Form The Enteric Nervous System
Funder
National Health and Medical Research Council
Funding Amount
$449,484.00
Summary
Extending scientific studies to a mathematical level is the way to produce deep understanding and control. Mathematics has been applied less to biology, particularly the biology of development, than to other branches of science, no doubt due to the innate complexity and technical difficulties of seeing and measuring what is actually going on. Labelling, imaging and computational tools to visualise biological processes are only now becoming available. To build our bodies during embryonic developm ....Extending scientific studies to a mathematical level is the way to produce deep understanding and control. Mathematics has been applied less to biology, particularly the biology of development, than to other branches of science, no doubt due to the innate complexity and technical difficulties of seeing and measuring what is actually going on. Labelling, imaging and computational tools to visualise biological processes are only now becoming available. To build our bodies during embryonic development, cells must move; this is called cell migration. The same process occurs throughout life in wound repair. Uncontrolled migration is the hallmark of malignant cancers, where it is called invasion. The molecular mechanisms in cells that allow them to move are just beginning to be understood. However, the big questions determining the general rules of migration are more difficult to approach. Here are some examples of such questions. When to migrate? Where to migrate to? Which pathways? How many cells to migrate? How far? How fast? How to stop? Such simple questions are still unanswered. We are pioneering a novel and unique approach combining imaging of real cells migrating in real tissues (digital time-lapse movies) with mathematical modelling to understand the driving forces of cell migration-invasion. This technology is here applied to a particular example of cell migration where precursor nerve cells migrate all the way along the length of the gastro-intestinal tract in early development. This process gives rise to fatal birth defects associated with migration failure. The development of the nervous system in the gut has features in common with all other migrations and invasions, normal and pathological. A much more profound knowledge of the big picture of the developmentally and clinically crucial process of cell migration-invasion will emerge from this marriage of biological experimentation and mathematical modelling.Read moreRead less
Fibrtic lung diseases are a major health burden, and are a leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. These diseases are effectively incurable, and a considerable number eventually require lung transplants. As such these diseases are prime candidates for stem cell therapies to regenerate and repair the lung. However, the lack of knowledge about the precise identity, organisation and regulation of these cells; how to deliver them effectively to the damaged lung; and how to pre-condition ....Fibrtic lung diseases are a major health burden, and are a leading causes of mortality and morbidity worldwide. These diseases are effectively incurable, and a considerable number eventually require lung transplants. As such these diseases are prime candidates for stem cell therapies to regenerate and repair the lung. However, the lack of knowledge about the precise identity, organisation and regulation of these cells; how to deliver them effectively to the damaged lung; and how to pre-condition their site of lodgement to best harness their potential. This project aims to address these issues. We have recently identified a rare population of cells in the adult mouse lung which has a number of characteristics consistent with that of an adult stem cell. We are able to grow these cells in tissue culture, and we have preliminary data suggesting that they can regenerate lung tissue when transplanted. The aim of this project is to precisely identify these cells, develop methods for their isolation and determine their location in the lung. The assays we will develop in this model will then be used to identify stem cells in the bone marrow which have similar properties and which could potentially be used clinically to alleviate lung disease. The project brings together a group of investigators with unique expertise in the isolation and analysis of adult stem cells, and in clinical and experimental respiratory medicine to develop preclinical models in the mouse which are prerequisite for the developement and implementation of step cell based therapies for lung disease in humans.Read moreRead less
Functional and structural characterisation of Defective embryo and meristems (Dem) proteins involved in plant development. The proposed research will lead to advances in understanding the regulation of plant development, a process impacting on agriculture, environmental management and human health, areas designated as national research priorities. This understanding is required for modifying plant growth and architecture to fit particular environments, for example generating plants with more ext ....Functional and structural characterisation of Defective embryo and meristems (Dem) proteins involved in plant development. The proposed research will lead to advances in understanding the regulation of plant development, a process impacting on agriculture, environmental management and human health, areas designated as national research priorities. This understanding is required for modifying plant growth and architecture to fit particular environments, for example generating plants with more extensive and deeper roots to mine the soil moisture and nutrients to enhance crop productivity in Australia, and maintaining the competitive advantage of Australian agriculture in view of the range of environmental conditions encountered in this country. The project will also contribute to the health of the Australian population through consumable plants in the diet.Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE0452977
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$329,504.00
Summary
Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence ....Upgrade and expansion of Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The project will upgrade and expand the Newcastle Plant Growth Facility. The upgrades will improve glasshouse environments for the production of high quality plant material. This outcome will be achieved through increasing solar transmittance and more effective temperature control. Expansion will address unmet demand for standard and PC2 plant growth space. Together the infrastructure additions will enhance productivity and excellence of core areas of plant biology research at Newcastle in nutrient transport, cell development as well as environment management and rehabilitation . In addition, they will underpin new collaborative initiatives at the interfaces between plant biology with transgenic delivery of reproductive vaccines and phytoremediation.Read moreRead less
Regulation of DNA replication initiation during Drosophila development. This proposal addresses the fundamental issue of the regulation of DNA
replication during development, using the animal model system, Drosophila melanogaster. This research uses a whole animal genetic and cell biological approach to explore DNA replication regulatory mechanisms that are present in multicellular organisms but not in yeast. The work undertaken here will make a significant contribution to our understanding of ....Regulation of DNA replication initiation during Drosophila development. This proposal addresses the fundamental issue of the regulation of DNA
replication during development, using the animal model system, Drosophila melanogaster. This research uses a whole animal genetic and cell biological approach to explore DNA replication regulatory mechanisms that are present in multicellular organisms but not in yeast. The work undertaken here will make a significant contribution to our understanding of DNA replication regulation within a developing organism that will be relevant to all animals.Read moreRead less
Unveiling and characterisation of a fundamental pathway important in cell division. This work will have a major impact by producing top quality research that addresses a fundamental biological question of relevance to all organisms. The research will advance understanding of genetic factors important in foetal and early childhood development and proliferative disorders that occur during ageing. This work will provide intellectual and practical training to Honours and PhD students and postdoctora ....Unveiling and characterisation of a fundamental pathway important in cell division. This work will have a major impact by producing top quality research that addresses a fundamental biological question of relevance to all organisms. The research will advance understanding of genetic factors important in foetal and early childhood development and proliferative disorders that occur during ageing. This work will provide intellectual and practical training to Honours and PhD students and postdoctoral researchers in the disciplines of Molecular Genetics, Molecular & Cellular Biology, Developmental Cell Biology, Mass Spectrometry and Proteomics, which will be of immense benefit to their scientific careers and the Australian scientific community.Read moreRead less