# Epithelial Cell Reintegration in Development and Disease

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER · 2021 · $323,400

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Many epithelial tissues are two-dimensional sheets of cells. Recent work from multiple
systems shows that a misplaced epithelial cell can reintegrate back into the sheet, and
suggest that this process is a common feature of tissue development. We aim to
understand this process. Our previous work in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster
showed that cell reintegration fails in the absence of homophilic adhesion molecules that
line cell-cell borders. This observation raises the question of whether the same
molecules mediate reintegration in other systems. Our preliminary work also suggests
that these molecules coordinate with other structural components to remodel the cell
after division, and that it is this process that drives reintegration. We propose three
specific aims: 1) Determine whether lateral adhesion mediates reintegration in three-
dimensional cultured vertebrate tissue systems. 2A) Find out whether reintegration
requires cooperation between adhesion molecules and cytoskeletal components. 2B)
Establish whether reintegrative capacity is limited to newly-born cells. This work will
illuminate cell reintegration, a fundamental property of epithelial tissues, and help to
explain its importance to tissue development and maintenance.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10245002
- **Project number:** 5R01GM125839-04
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER
- **Principal Investigator:** Daniel T. Bergstralh
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $323,400
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10245002

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10245002, Epithelial Cell Reintegration in Development and Disease (5R01GM125839-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10245002. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*