Mechanical regulation of wound healing and tissue regeneration

A major goal of current medical research is to develop therapies that improve the abilities of our bodies to repair and regenerate following tissue damage. In order to achieve this goal we need to understand how tissues detect and response to damage. The overall aim of our research is to fully understand the process of tissue repair at the molecular and cellular level. One aspect of tissue repair that is poorly understood is how tensile (stretching) forces acting at sites of tissue damage influence the repair process. In this project we will use genetics and state-of-the-art imaging techniques to explore how tensile forces affect tissue repair. We will use two model systems for this research. Firstly, the Drosophila embryo, which has a simple skin, equivalent to the outer layer human skin. We have developed techniques for time-lapse imaging of tissue repair following laser wounding of the skin of live Drosophila embryos and will use sophisticated genetic techniques to explore the function of individual genes during the repair process. Secondly, we will use cultures of human skin cells, which we can stretch with precision and hence observe how stretching influences repair. Using these two systems we will first determine how mechanical forces alter the dynamics and mechanism of tissue repair. We will then investigate how mechanical forces alter the behaviour of cells at damage sites at the molecular level. In particular we will investigate how cells sense and respond to stretching forces. This project will bring together biology and mechanics to answer a topical and medically important question and provide training in a variety of useful research techniques including bioimaging, genetics and biomechanics.