Research Interests

Limb and spinal cord regneration.

Research Area

Research being conducted in my laboratory centers on the isolation and characterization of novel factors involved in tissue regeneration. Frogs represent a useful animal model with which to study molecular mechanisms that drive regeneration and, conversely, which repress gene activity that could lead to inhibition of the regenerative capacity in higher vertebrates. In these species limbs and spinal cords regenerate well during larval stages, but gradually lose this ability as the animal approaches metamorphosis. Adult frogs do not regenerate and the response of these structures to surgical transection is normally similar to that of higher vertebrates. This stage difference in regenerative ability can be used to advantage experimentally to discover, by differential gene screening, the molecules and molecular pathways that drive regeneration or inhibit regeneration within the same species. This project is being carried out with a consortium of researchers at Indiana University, Bloomington, IUPUI Indianapolis and Eli Lilly and Co., Indianapolis.

Current Members

King, Michael W. (Principal Investigator/Director)

Contact

Institution: Indiana University

Address:
Indiana University School of Medicine
Terre Haute Center for Medical Education
Terre Haute, Indianna
USA

Web Page: http://terrehaute.medicine.iu.edu/people-directory/faculty/michael-w-king/

General/Lab Phone: (812) 237-3417