Meeting on 7 March 2025 09:00-14:00

Venue: AIAS, Aarhus University, Building 1630.301
Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B, 8000, Aarhus C
 

Abstract

Differentiated cells from various tissues can revert to a progenitor-like state following injury. This hints at the existence of an evolutionarily conserved program, sometimes referred to as paligenosis, in which somatic cells could respond to tissular damage by dedifferentiating and undergoing mitosis instead of performing their normal functions. Thus, the plasticity of somatic cells attracts great attention from the scientific community as a possible tool for tissue regeneration.

The circulatory and nervous systems are two body systems in which cell plasticity is underexplored, yet with great potential from the point of view of treatment of age-related diseases, including Alzheimer’s and cardiovascular diseases. The circulatory and nervous systems are intricately connected, for example the nervous system can regulate blood pressure and heart rate. Similarly, the circulatory system supports nervous tissue by providing nutrients and oxygen and by removing waste.

It is important to assess whether there are common mechanisms governing cellular plasticity in both systems and whether cell identity changes in one system can alter functions of the other system. Furthermore, reparative regeneration, a tissue-specific program that almost perfectly replicates what was injured, is frequently found in zebrafish, salamanders, and many lizards. Hence, studies on species with increased regenerative potential might help to unravel the complex mechanism underlying cell plasticity.

The “Cellular plasticity at the crossroads of the nervous and circulatory systems” meeting will focus on cell plasticity in the circulatory and nervous systems and will aim to find the relevant intersections between both research fields to advance in our understanding of somatic cell fate modulation and its consequences.

Speakers

• Anita Dittrich, Center for Gene and Cellular Therapy, Aarhus University Hospital; Comparative Medicine Lab, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University; Mechanobiology of Cardiac Regeneration Lab, Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, Karolinska Institutet.
• Catherine Williams, ANIVET Behaviour, stress and welfare (BSW), Department of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Aarhus University
• Christian Damsgaard, Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University
• Jacob Bentzon, Research unit for arteriosclerosis, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University; Department of Cardiology and Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital
• Joanna Kalucka, Laboratory of Angiogenesis and Inflammation, Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University; Steno Diabetes Center Aarhus, Aarhus University Hospital
• Leif Østergaard, Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University
• Magda Hamczyk, Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies; Aarhus University
• Tobias Wang, Zoophysiology, Department of Biology, Aarhus University

Programme

9:00-9:30 Breakfast (optional)

9:30-9:35 Welcome

9:35-11:10 Session I

• 9:35-9:55 Catherine Williams “The heart of lizard: functional ventricular regeneration in the leopard gecko, what are the cells involved?”
• 9:55-10:15 Anita Dittrich “Endowing regenerative ability to mammalian cardiac cells via the extracellular matrix of a regenerative species”
• 10:15-10:35 Jacob Bentzon “Smooth muscle cell plasticity in atherosclerosis”
• 10:35-10:55 Magda Hamczyk “Endothelial-to-mesenchymal transition in atherosclerosis”
• 10:55-11:10 Brainstorming session I

11:10-11:25 Coffee break

11:25-13:00 Session II

• 11:25-11:45 Joanna Kalucka "Endothelial Cells as Mediators of Inflammation"
• 11:45-12:05 Tobias Wang “The orchestrated cardiovascular response to digestion in snakes”
• 12:05-12:25 Leif Østergaard “Capillary adaptations to neural plasticity in health and disease”
• 12:25-12:45 Christian Damsgaard “A Bird’s Eye View on Neural Anoxia Tolerance”
• 12:45-13:00 Brainstorming session II and closing remarks

13:00-14:00 Lunch

Registration

The event is free and open to all interested. Due to catering, please register for the seminar here no later than 5 March.