Neural Proliferation Control

The main interest of our group is the control of proliferation and differentiation processes along nervous system development. Germ line and somatic mutations may cause an alteration of the mentioned processes, leading to an aberrant growth and in many cases prompting it to malignancies. Historically neoplastic growth has been associated to genes that either induce cell proliferation, or increase survival. Advanced tumours normally accumulate a large number of mutations, being difficult to discriminate which of those mutations were the founding ones. Our laboratory has become interested in the first cellular steps upon tumour onset. We have observed that oncogenes like b-Catenin in addition to regulate the mentioned proliferation and survival processes, develop key activities in cell polarization and positioning within the primary epithelium and that the polarity and cell position are by themselves potent regulators of proliferation, differentiation and cell fate acquisition.