Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

If you have a question about this talk, please contact Kay Davies.

Our laboratory is interested in how cells acquire specialised functions, and how this identity is transmitted when cells divide. We have a longstanding interest in the role of repressors in development, and using reprogramming strategies to test both the resilience of cellular memory mechanisms and the requirements for stable lineage conversion.

I will present some new studies showing that Jarid2, a component of the Polycomb Repressor Complex 2, regulates cell-to-cell signalling in the developing blastocyst.  Our studies show that Jarid2 is required for Planar Cell Polarity (PCP) pathways in mouse embryonic stem cells. Depletion of Jarid2 or its downstream  PCP  signalling components in vivo generates blastocysts in which more a single inner cell mass (ICM) is initiated and where ‘twinning’ is common. The mechanistic basis and implications of these results will be discussed.

David Landeira, Hakan Bagci, Andy Malinowski, Jorge Soza-Ried, Karen Brown, Amelie Feytout, Irene Cantone, Matthias Merkenschlager & Amanda Fisher Lymphocyte Development Group,  MRC  Clinical Sciences Centre, Imperial College School of Medicine, Hammersmith Hospital Campus, Du Cane Road, London,  W12 0NN