Chen (Elizabeth) Lab | UT Southwestern, Dallas, Texas

Cell-Cell Fusion in Development and Regeneration

The Chen lab studies mechanisms underlying cell-cell fusion in development and regeneration.

View Our Research

Meet the Principal Investigator

Elizabeth Chen, Ph.D.

Professor

Molecular Biology | Cell Biology

Cell and Molecular Biology, Genetics, Development, and Disease

View Faculty Profile

Lab Research Hightlights

Dynamin mediated actin bundle

Dynamin on Actin comet tails

Drosophila embryonic musculature

Electron micrograph showing an invasive FCM (pseudo colored light purple) projecting finger-like protrusions into the apposing founder cell.

Wild-type (left) and longer mutant (right) embryos labeled with anti-MHC antibody.

Schematic of Drosophila myoblast fusion. Muscle founder cell attracts fusion competent myoblasts (FCMs) and fuse with them to form multinucleated muscle fibers

3D representation of an invasive F-actin focus (middle). Horizontal confocal section reveals its invasion into the apposing founder cell (left); and vertical section reveals rings of cell adhesion molecules (Duf and Sns) enclosing the F-actin focus. The F-actin focus and the cell adhesion molecule Sns compose of a podosome-like structure (PLS) at the protruding tip of the FCM.