News

14 April 2022
Uncovering mechanisms of regeneration
In zebrafish, three sequential phases are discovered to control hair cell regeneration
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The primary focus of our lab is understanding the development and regeneration of the zebrafish lateral line and the potential applications for promoting mammalian hair cell regeneration to restore hearing loss or deafness.
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PublicationsResearch Summary
Development and Regeneration, Evolutionary Biology, Molecular and Cell Biology
Zebrafish, Cavefish
The Piotrowski Lab focuses on development and regeneration of the lateral line sensory system in zebrafish. Research into this system offers growing insight into human sensory organ development and disease, including why individuals lose their hearing as they age.
The lateral line develops from a group of around 100 cells, the primordium, which forms behind the fish's ear, migrates toward the tail tip, and deposits sensory organs, called neuromasts, along the way. Hair cells within neuromasts extend cilia, which look like tiny hairs, to detect water movement, enabling fish to orient themselves, find prey, and avoid predators in the water. These hair cells are remarkably similar to those in mammalian ears that detect sound waves and enable hearing.
The Piotrowski Lab’s research has developed the lateral line system into a powerful model and has identified several genes required for the coordinated migration of groups of cells and uncovered how signaling pathways interact to subdivide the primordium into leading and trailing regions. This aids our understanding of cancer biology, as several human cancers invade tissues as groups of cells.
The Piotrowski Lab investigates how zebrafish sensory hair cells develop and regenerate after injury. In mammals, once hair cells die from aging or after prolonged noise exposure, their inability to regenerate results in permanent hearing loss, in contrast to species who continually generate new hair cells. The team is hopeful their research will elucidate how zebrafish hair cells regenerate to provide clues for triggering hair cell regeneration in mammals, paving the way for treatments for hearing loss.
Principal Investigator
Investigator
Stowers Institute for Medical Research
Tatjana Piotrowski, Ph.D., a developmental biologist, is an Investigator at the Stowers Institute. She joined Stowers in 2011 as an Associate Investigator and was promoted to full Investigator in 2018.
Tatjana Piotrowski, Ph.D., a developmental biologist, is an Investigator at the Stowers Institute. She joined Stowers in 2011 as an Associate Investigator and was promoted to full Investigator in 2018.
The Piotrowski Lab has been performing single-cell expression analyses of regenerating sensory organs to determine which genes are activated or silenced in each cell. They are currently testing the function of these genes and how they are transcriptionally regulated.
Why should an early career scientist choose Stowers? Investigator Tatjana Piotrowski says the Institute provides unparalleled mentorship that helps ensure success for new faculty.
News
14 April 2022
In zebrafish, three sequential phases are discovered to control hair cell regeneration
Read Article
News
08 February 2022
Investigator Tatjana Piotrowski, PhD, has been appointed editor of the Annual Review of Genetics which is a member of the family of publications from Annual Reviews.
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Baek S, Tran NTT, Diaz DC, Tsai YY, Acedo JN, Lush ME, Piotrowski T. [published ahead of print 3-28-2022]. Dev Cell. 2022;57:1-21. doi: 10.1016/j.devcel.2022.1003.1001.
Denans N, Tran NTT, Swall ME, Diaz DC, Blanck J, Piotrowski T. bioRxiv 2021;09.28.462132.
Peloggia J, Munch D, Meneses-Giles P, Romero-Carvajal A, Lush ME, Lawson ND, McClain M, Pan YA, Piotrowski T. Dev Cell. 2021;56:1296-1312 e1297.
Comparing Sensory Organs to Define the Path for Hair Cell Regeneration
Denans N, Baek S, Piotrowski T. Annu Rev Cell Dev Biol. 2019;35:568-589.
PCP and Wnt pathway components act in parallel during zebrafish mechanosensory hair cell orientation
Navajas Acedo J, Voas MG, Alexander R, Woolley T, Unruh JR, Li H, Moens C, Piotrowski T. Nat Commun. 2019;10:3993. doi: 3910.1038/s41467-41019-12005-y.