Download Stem cells and cancer

STEM CELLS AND CANCER
https://www.irbbarcelona.org/en/research/stem-cells-and-cancer
Research project / Research Group description
The group of Dr. Salvador Aznar Benitah investigates how adult stem cells spatio-temporally
coordinate their cell autonomous behavior, with the signals they receive from their local and
systemic enviroments, to maintain homeostasis.
One intriguing finding made in the stem cell field is the fact that the fate of the division of
several types of adult SCs cannot be predicted (i.e. it´s stochastic). Yet, notwithstanding this
stochastic behaviour, we have shown that the timing of SC function is tightly regulated by
circadian rhythms (Janich et al., Nature 2011; Janich et al, Cell Stem Cell 2013; Janich et al, Curr
Opin Cell Biol 2014; Toufighi et al, Plos Comp Biol 2015). Importantly, we showed that enforced
circadian arrhythmia in adult SCs causes their dramatic accelerated ageing, and a high
predisposition to develop cancer (Janich et al., Nature 2011). The project that the PhD student
would be involved in specifically aims at understanding this interesting interplay between the
circadian clock and adult SC ageing.
It has been hypothesized that we become arrhythmic during ageing, and that this is in fact one
of the molecular causes of the functional decline of SCs with time. However, we do not know if
and how aged SCs show perturbations in their circadian rhythms, and whether these
perturbations are cause or consequence of the ageing process. We have recently generated
new mouse models to study how disruption of circadian rhythms affects SC ageing in specific
tissues. These novel mouse models will be used for studying how tissues interact with each
other (i.e. systemic communication), whether circadian perturbation in one tissue affects the
clock of other distant tissues, and if and how this systemically affects the life- and health span.
Based on these results, several strategies will be tested to improve lifespan and prevent
premature ageing, such as specific dietary interventions or drug applications.