# Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Wound Repair

> **NIH NIH R01** · FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER · 2021 · $165,761

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Most cells of the body are exposed to a wide range of physiological and environmental stresses during
their normal daily functions that can lead to disruption of the cell’s plasma membrane and underlying
cortical cytoskeleton. The capacity of cells to repair general day-to-day wear-and-tear injuries, as well
as ones resulting from trauma or pathological conditions ranging from infection to diseases/cancer, is
essential for their survival. The general aim of this proposal is to understand how cells cope with these
membrane and cortical cytoskeleton disruptions. We have developed a single cell repair model using
the syncytial Drosophila embryo that is proving to be a superb model for the in vivo study of cellular
repair owing to its amenability for live imaging and its genetic tractability that is unavailable in other cell
wound repair models. Our long-term goal is to delineate the molecular and cellular mechanisms
governing cell wound repair. The specific aims of this proposal are 1) to determine how a cell’s torn
plasma membrane is rapidly re-sealed and remodeled; 2) to determine how the initial uniform repair
signal results in the precise spatio-temporal recruitment of repair factors to the wound site; and 3) to
determine the nature and regulation of the actin ring attachment to the overlying plasma membrane
facilitating cell wound closure. Our findings should extrapolate across phyla, complement work being
done in other experimental systems, provide new insight into key events of cellular repair, and impact
work in other fields by contributing to the understanding of related fundamental cellular and
developmental processes. While fundamental in nature, our studies will also be of significant medical
relevance, as understanding the events controlling cell wound repair will be important for developing
new strategies for treating cellular damage (or for augmenting the effectiveness of existing ones) or for
disciplines such as regenerative medicine where cell based constructs are implanted to reconstruct
tissues.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10640745
- **Project number:** 6R01GM111635-08
- **Recipient organization:** FRED HUTCHINSON CANCER CENTER
- **Principal Investigator:** SUSAN M PARKHURST
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $165,761
- **Award type:** 6
- **Project period:** 2015-05-01 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10640745

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10640745, Molecular and Cellular Mechanisms of Wound Repair (6R01GM111635-08). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10640745. Licensed CC0.

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