Translational specialization of cellular identity in embryonic development and disease
| Title | Translational specialization of cellular identity in embryonic development and disease |
|---|---|
| Acronym | TRANSCEND |
| Website | kurianlab.com |
| Start date | 2023-03-01 |
| End date | 2028-02-29 |
| Sponsor | European Research Council - Consolidator Grant (ERC-CoG) |
| Principal investigator | Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Leo Kurian
E-Mail: kurian@med.uni-frankfurt.de Phone: 017672867311 |
Associated cell lines
- CIMRi002-A (GM25256, WTC11)
- UKKi020-D (NP0100-11)
- UKKi021-A (NP0105-2)
- UKKi022-D (NP0106-5)
- UKKi025-C (NP0135-7)
- UKKi026-A (NP0114-1A)
- UKKi027-B (NP0101-4C, NP0101-B)
- UKKi028-B (NP0115-B)
- UKKi031-A (NP0138-8B)
- UKKi035-A (NP0139-3E, NP0139-A)
Project Description
A central question in developmental biology is how genetic information is differentially interpreted to program cell-fate decisions essential for embryogenesis. The success of developmental cell-fate decisions relies on the accurate rewiring of the proteome to support rapid cellular identity changes. Here, we will address the fundamental question: How is the developmental transcriptome differentially translated in time and space to program cell-fate decisions? I hypothesize that the developmental competence for cell-fate decisions is controlled by fate-specific translational specialization factors (TSFs). TSFs program the selective and privileged translation of developmental genes in defined time windows to enable the acquisition of cell fate and maintenance of cellular identity. Notably, in a proof-of-principle study, we discovered that translational specialization in pluripotency poises future lineage choices in humans. The proposed research program TRANSCEND aims at transforming our current understanding of translational control over cell-fate decisions and opening up innovative avenues for controlled therapeutic restoration of cardiac function.