Research on tissue mechanics/metabolism (potentially relevant to cancer) awarded significant grants

9 April 2024

Alessandro Mongera, Lecturer in Developmental Mechanics in the UCL CDB, has been granted an AMS Springboard Award, together with an HFSP - a substantial and prestigious grant, for his research on the mechanical and metabolic control of embryo development

Slide showing diagrammatically how glucose can be catabolized anaerobically via glycolysis to lactate, a potential nutrient for tissues and tumours, and aerobically via the tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle to carbon dioxide

Proper development of an embryo relies on genes and their products. From a physical perspective, however, shaping a mass of initially-identical cells into organs requires complex deformations of the tissue. Like inert materials, tissues behave as either fluids or solids, and can even switch quickly from one state to the other in a process known as phase transition (PT). Tissue PTs are not only important during development; they also characterize brain growth and wound healing, although how they are controlled is still unknown.

The goal of these projects is to connect PTs with metabolism, the chemical reactions in our bodies that produce energy and cell building blocks, and also with epigenetics in living embryos without affecting their normal development.

The research will be conducted using, as a model, vertebral column formation in zebrafish. Importantly, zebrafish allow the study of PTs, metabolism and epigenetics in living embryos (without affecting their normal development). The research will focus on the formation of the vertebral column, a process that can occur only if the tissue switches from fluid to solid at proper locations.

These studies have the potential to inform novel strategies for generating organs-in-a-dish as well as to block cancer invasion, which is easier when the tissue behave like a fluid.

Alessandro Mongera of UCL CDB, with co-authors Maria Almuedo-Castillo (Dept of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Spain) and Mattia Serra (Dept of Physics, University of California, San Diego, USA)

Ale’s co-researchers include Maria Almuedo-Castillo (Dept of Gene Regulation and Morphogenesis, Centro Andaluz de Biología del Desarrollo, Spain) and Mattia Serra (Dept of Physics, University of California, San Diego, USA).

For further information on the Springboard award – see https://acmedsci.ac.uk/more/news/66m-springboard-emerging-research-leaders (Ale is listed 16th in the awardees list)

For further information on the HFSP Research Grant – see https://www.hfsp.org/sites/default/files/2024-04/HFSPResearchGrant%20Award%20Booklet_2024.pdf (Ale is fourth in the UK list on p. 51 and the project is described on p. 21)