The Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway controls distinct aspects during development. Our previous results indicate that this pathway regulates hematopoietic stem and progenitor cell maintenance and fate. We demonstrated that activation of the Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway is required to upregulate G-CSF-R (granulocyte-colony stimulating factor-receptor) levels, which favors the production of granulocytes. Next, since G-CSF-R is critical not only for production of granulocytes in steady-state conditions but also in stress situations, we next aim to investigate whether and how Wnt/beta-catenin is involved in emergency granulopoiesis. Emergency granulopoiesis occurs during stress conditions, such infections, where large amounts of granulocytes need to be produced in a time-dependent manner. The specific aims of the projects are: (1) to determine whether infection leads to activation of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway, (2) to investigate whether Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway deficient mice respond to infection in a similar way as WT mice, and (3) to investigate the dynamics of the emergency granulopoiesis response following LPS stimulation at early timepoints.
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