Projects / Programmes
Differentiation of urothelial cell
January 1, 2004
- December 31, 2008
| Code |
Science |
Field |
Subfield |
| 3.03.00 |
Medical sciences |
Neurobiology |
|
| 3.04.00 |
Medical sciences |
Oncology |
|
| Code |
Science |
Field |
| B210 |
Biomedical sciences |
Histology, cytochemistry, histochemistry, tissue culture |
uroepithelium, differentiation, cytokeratin, Golgi apparatus, cell culture, urinary tract diseases
Researchers (14)
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The work has focused on urothelium, the tissue that lines much of the urinary tract including urinary bladder. Normal urothelium has a number of highly specialized features, which complement the function of the urothelium to provide an accommodating urinary barrier. The most notably feature is aysmmetric unit membrane (AUM) of the superficial urothelial cell. AUM is one of the major urothelial specific differentiation markers, beside the others as for example cytokeratins and the morphology of apical plasma membrane. The program of our work based around the following topic:
The study of urothelial specific differentiation markers, its expression, localization and supramolecular organization in urinary tract. Specific questions will be addressed on AUM maturation between Golgium and plasma membrane as well as on the role of exo- and endocytosis in urothelial cell.
In order to study the specialized properties of urothelium as reflected in bladder pathogenesis in particular, tumour cells we shall study differentiation of the cells in primary explants culture of urinary bladder urothelium and in urothelial cells of patient with urinary tract diseases.
The fourth areas that we are presently concentate on are: to determine the biogenesis of AUM, the role of urothelial specific differentiation markers, as well as the study of the membrane turn over, and the establishment of the reciprocal relationship between the lamina propria and urothelium.
The program is intended to lead to an improve understanding of urothelial cell structure and function in terms of cell differentiation. It will have applications in identifying urothelial specific markers for diagnosis and in development of autologous urothelial cell cultures.
Significance for science
The research was designed to answer some basic questions of urothelial differentiation and promoted communications between the leading scientific groups working on the problem of urothelial cell biology. Researches included the study of possible variations in differentiation pathways of urothelium. The result comes from the understanding of the differentiation mechanism is crucial also for further applications in investigations on urothelial neoplasms. Understanding of the mechanisms involved in cell movement was also applied to wound healing and to the detachment and regeneration of the endothelium. This work promoted communication between different scientific groups working on the problem of urothelial differentiation (USA, Italy, Austria, …). We have published our results in the most relevant international publications. All of these results obtained from our program seem to me beneficial for the promotion of the research and knowledge in general.
Significance for the country
The principal aim of this program was to study the mechanisms of urothelial differentiation, at the cellular and subcellular level. Our work enabled to combine experiences of our laboratories with others in the world to gain first-hand experience in the very rapidly developing field of urothelial differentiation. In other words for Slovenia development of the various techniques was expected to be of benefit in others important fields of research and not be restricted to the bladder alone. The benefits for Slovenian development are in fact triple. Firstly, the cooperation was established with the world leading scientific institution in the field. This gave opportunity to Slovenian scientist to be in direct contact with the latest scientific developments. Secondly, the cooperation enabled newest research methods in the cell biology (for example 3D reconstruction on ultrathin level, and development of the newest cryotecniques…) to be developed and applied in Slovenia. All these connected Slovenian epithelial cell biology science to the research in the developed world. In the frame of this program young scientists was included which gave them opportunity to go abroad and thus gain first-hand experience in the very rapidly developing field of cell biology. The benefit, the third one, was also on the level of getting first experiences on future application of the knowledge into clinical practice. At last, benefit for our country are publications of the articles in Slovenian language which enable to expand the knowledge into our language as well as gave the opportunity to establish Slovenian words for the developing filed. In the frame of PhD study at our University the program Medical Cell Biology is constantly applying by new knowledge from our research program.
Most important scientific results
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Most important socioeconomically and culturally relevant results
Final report,
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