Epigenetics and regenerative medicine

As a spin-off of our Scar Wars programme we are investigating the epigenetic kinetics of TGFβ pulses in fibroblasts. We do this to find ways to reprogramme myofibroblasts, the cellular culprits of fibrosis, to a more benign phenotype. We also study the epigenetic effects that extracellular matrix has on adult and embryonic stem cells. With our novel macromolecular crowding technology we are currently building up a platform to tissue-engineer adipose tissue from mesenchymal cells from bone marrow and peripheral blood with unmatched yield and speed to prepare the ground for in vitro studies of metabolic syndrome, in the framework of the emerging research field of nutriepigenomics