The workshop ‘Cellular plasticity at the crossroads of the nervous and circulatory systems’ gathered Aarhus University and University Hospital researchers from areas as different as Zoophysiology, Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Gene and Cellular Therapy and Animal and Veterinary sciences to present their research and share perspectives on cellular plasticity. The talks were followed by vivid discussions that favored the exchange of ideas and fostered future collaborations to develop novel perspectives and ways to address cellular plasticity.

The traditional view in cell biology asserts that tissues are predominantly comprised of terminally-differentiated cells that are quiescent and fulfill their predetermined role until death. According to this model, tissue regeneration and maintenance depend on a small subset of non-differentiated cells, called stem cells.

A notion on the rise: Cell identities are more fluid

Recent advances in cell biology, however, have challenged this traditional paradigm. Thus, the Cellular Plasticity workshop addressed a notion on the rise: that differentiated cell identities are more fluid than previously thought with significant implications for tissue function, regeneration and repair. The workshop focused on the cardiovascular and nervous systems, two interconnected body systems whose malfunctioning underlies death for a large proportion of the world’s population.

Cell re-adaptation in response to environmental cues

The speakers affiliated with departments across the university, from Clinical Medicine, Animal and Veterinary Sciences, Biology, Biomedicine and AIAS, provided valuable inputs towards understanding how differentiated cells can change their fate and readapt in response to environmental cues, such as inflammation, oxygen deprivation and tissue damage.

Some of those readaptation events share common mechanisms with developmental processes which suggest that many cell types possess the ability to de- or transdifferentiate - yet they need a trigger to unlock the ‘plasticity potential’. The change of cell fate might lead to tissue malfunction or regeneration, depending on the new cell identity acquired. Hence, learning how to control this process might be beneficial for preventing disease and restoring tissue homeostasis.

Learning from species with enhanced regenerative capacities

Several talks highlighted cellular crosstalk, extracellular matrix and humoral factors among the factors that might regulate cell plasticity. Animal species with enhanced regenerative capacities such as salamanders and some lizards might serve as a learning platform for unlocking the regenerative potential in human cells. Furthermore, studying tissues and species with unique features, like the retina of birds or the gastrointestinal system in snakes, might unravel specific cell adaptations that can provide additional insights into cellular plasticity.

Next steps – cellular plasticity on an international scale

The next interdisciplinary meeting on cellular plasticity is planned to be held after the summer of 2025. The participants have expressed interest in organizing an international conference that will have an interdisciplinary focus to enhance our knowledge on cellular plasticity.

Interested in cellular plasticity?

If you have an interest in cellular plasticity, you are welcome to get in contact with AIAS-AUFF Fellow Magda Hamczyk, mhamczyk@aias.au.dk who initiated and organized the workshop.

Contact

Magda R. Hamczyk, AIAS-AUFF Fellow
E-mail: mhamczyk@aias.au.dk

Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, AIAS
Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B
DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark