Research Projects

Animal development involves various stages, including fertilization, cleavage, gastrulation, and organogenesis. The epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) is a cellular transition that influences development. EMT undergoes epigenetic alterations guided by cells of origin and is widely demonstrated in disease. However, the role of APLF in development is poorly understood. A recent study reported that histone chaperone Aprataxin PNK-Like Factor (APLF) might regulate cellular reprogramming and breast cancer metastasis involving EMT. However, no structural or functional study has been reported on murine APLF, leaving the understanding of this multidomain protein unexplored. The study aims to understand domain-specific characterization, function, and the mechanism mediated by APLF in regulation of different stages of development involving EMT. Embryonic and trophoblast stem cells (EsCs/TsCs) and blastoids will be used as in vitro models. The study aims to advance our understanding of critical stages of mammalian development and fundamental molecules involved in development. The focus on murine models will serve as an initial understanding of how EMT associated with similar stages of human embryonic development is regulated and can be used to design APLF as a marker for EMT-associated dysregulation in development.