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From sponges to man, the organization of cells into epithelial sheets is an essential feature of animal design. Defects in the control of epithelial morphogenesis can cause catastrophic developmental abnormalities; this remains true in adult tissues where many human cancers are associated with dysplastic epithelial architecture.
To gain new insight into the fundamental control of epithelial cell shape and proliferation, my lab employs live imaging techniques, cell biology, and genetic analysis to study imaginal disc development in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster.
As simple epithelial sacs that exhibit rapid proliferative growth and the full range of squamous, cuboidal, and columnar cell types, imaginal discs are an ideal system for exploring the molecular control of epithelial growth and form. In addition, the Drosophila model system offers a wide range of experimental tools for the analysis of gene function, protocols for live imaging of development, and the ability to perform rapid, large-scale genetic screens in vivo.
Current projects in the lab fall under two major questions about epithelial organization. First- What are the molecular-genetic mechanisms that specify the distinctive squamous, cuboidal, and columnar cell morphologies found in epithelial tissues throughout the metazoa? Second- How do epithelial cell sheets maintain spatial order and structural integrity while simultaneously accommodating rapid proliferative growth?
Due to the very basic nature of these questions, it is anticipated that their long-term resolution will have broad phylogenetic significance as well as direct relevance to epithelial cancers and other forms of proliferative disease.
Academic Appointment: Assistant Professor, Dept. of Anatomy and Cell Biology, The University of Kansas School of Medicine
Selected
publications
Gibson MC. Bicoid by the numbers:
quantifying a morphogen gradient. Cell. 2007;130:14-16. Abstract
Gibson MC, Patel AB, Nagpal R, Perrimon N. The emergence of geometric
order in proliferating metazoan epithelia. Nature. 2006;442:1038-1041.
Abstract
Gibson MC, Perrimon N. Extrusion and
death of DPP/BMP-compromised epithelial cells in the developing Drosophila
wing. Science. 2005;307:1785-1789. Abstract
Gibson MC, Perrimon N. Apicobasal polarization: epithelial form and
function. Curr Opin Cell Biol. 2003;15:747-752. Abstract
Gibson MC, Lehman DA, Schubiger G. Lumenal transmission of
decapentaplegic in Drosophila imaginal discs. Dev Cell. 2002;3:451-460.
Abstract
Hrdlicka L, Gibson M, Kiger A, Micchelli C, Schober M, Schock F, Perrimon N. Analysis of twenty-four Gal4 lines in Drosophila
melanogaster. Genesis. 2002;34:51-57. Abstract
Gibson MC, Schubiger G. Drosophila
peripodial cells, more than meets the eye? Bioessays. 2001;23:691-697.
Abstract
Gibson MC, Schubiger G. Peripodial
cells regulate proliferation and patterning of Drosophila imaginal discs. Cell.
2000;103:343-350. Abstract
Griffin KJ, Stoller J, Gibson M,
Chen S, Yelon D, Stainier DY, Kimelman D. A
conserved role for H15-related T-box transcription factors in zebrafish and
Drosophila heart formation. Dev Biol. 2000;218:235-247. Abstract
Gibson MC, Schubiger G. Hedgehog is
required for activation of engrailed during regeneration of fragmented
Drosophila imaginal discs. Development. 1999;126:1591-1599. Abstract
Reviews, Commentaries and Chapters
Nagpal R, Patel A, Gibson MC. Problems
and Paradigms: Epithelial Topology. BioEssays. 2008;30:260-266. Abstract
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Gibson
Lab