Research summary
Developmental Genetics Laboratory at IISER (MOHALI) is interested in Hematopoiesis, Cardiogenesis and Molecular pathways in stem and progenitor cell development.
Ongoing Project: Molecular genetic dissection of signaling pathways involved in hematopoietic niche maintenance in Drosophila. A proposal funded by WELLCOME DBT Alliance.
Stem cells are the source of virtually all highly differentiated cells that are replenished during the lifetime of an animal. The critical balance between stem and differentiated cell populations is crucial for the long-term maintenance of functional tissue types. A microenvironment that is supportive of stem cells is commonly referred to as a stem cell niche. Although, several signaling molecules emanating from the niche has been identified for regulation of stem cell state and function, the information regarding niche maintenance is still in its infancy. We are interested to know the mechanistic basis of niche maintenance.
Last decade established Drosophila as the best invertebrate model system for studying hematopoiesis. Due to the limited access of mammalian hematopoietic niche this amenable system allows us to unravel molecular regulation of stem cell progenitors and its relation with the niche. The power of Drosophila as a model organism is very well established, most notably its genetics and developmental biology. Taking advantage of these strengths our group also aims in unraveling novel genes and mechanisms that controls hematopoietic progenitors cell specification and differentiation. Given the high degree of conservation of blood development between Drosophila and the vertebrates, we hope that the ability to manipulate the function of such genes in Drosophila would aid in understanding function and dysfunction in human hematopoiesis.
Selected Publications
- Mondal BC, Mukherjee T, Mandal L, Evans CJ, Sinenko SA, Martinez-Agosto JA, Banerjee U. Interaction between differentiating cell- and niche-derived signals in hematopoietic progenitor maintenance. Cell. 2011 Dec 23;147(7):1589-600. Joint First author.
- Mukherjee T, Kim WS, Mandal L, Banerjee U. Interaction between Notch and Hif-alpha in development and survival of Drosophila blood cells. Science. 2011 Jun 3;332(6034):1210-3.
- Grigorian M, Mandal L, Hakimi M, Ortiz I, Hartenstein V. The convergence of Notch and MAPK signaling specifies the blood progenitor fate in the Drosophila mesoderm. Dev Biol. 2011 May 1;353(1):105-18.
- Grigorian M, Mandal L, Hartenstein V. Hematopoiesis at the onset of metamorphosis: terminal differentiation and dissociation of the Drosophila lymph gland. Dev Genes Evol. 2011 Aug;221(3):121-31.
- Sinenko SA, Mandal L, Martinez-Agosto JA, Banerjee U.Dual role of wingless signaling in stem-like hematopoietic precursor maintenance in Drosophila. Dev Cell. 2009 May;16(5):756-63.
- Mandal L, Martinez-Agosto JA, Evans CJ, Hartenstein V, Banerjee U. A Hedgehog- and Antennapedia- dependent niche maintains Drosophila haematopoietic precursors. Nature. 2007 Mar 15;446(7133): 320-4.
- Hartenstein V, Mandal L.The blood/vascular system in a phylogenetic perspective. Bioessays. 2006 Dec;28(12):1203-10. Review.
- Mandal L, Dumstrei K, Hartenstein V.Role of FGFR signaling in the morphogenesis of the Drosophila visceral musculature. Dev Dyn. 2004 Oct;231(2):342-8.
- Mandal L, Bannerjee U, Hartenstein V. Evidence for a fruit fly hemangioblast and similarities between lymph-gland hematopoiesis in fruit fly and mammal aorta-gonadal-mesonephros mesoderm. Nat Genet. 2004 Sep;36(9):1019-23.
- Cory J. Evans, Sergey A. Sinenko, Lolitika Mandal, Julian A. Martinez-Agosto and Utpal Banerjee. Genetic Dissection of Hematopoiesis Using Drosophila as a Model System. Cardiovascular Development. Advances in Developmental Biology. Edited by Rolf Bodmer.