Research > Cell Signalling

Migrating T cells utilise their trailing tail or uropod, which is rich in tubulin (stained red).
Top panel shows PKC-ß (green) and left panel shows tubulin (red).
Phase contrast (upper) and confocal (lower) images of nanocrystals with two distinctive flourescence spectra microinjected into cultured epithelial cells. This work is a collaboration between the Departments of Clinical Medicine, Chemistry and Physics in Trinity College Dublin.

Research focus: Mechanisms of inflammation and malignant (cancer) cell spreading - cell migration, underlying cytoskeletal changes and signalling processes. Development of novel approaches for diagnostics and treatment. Prof Dermot Kelleher and Dr Yuri Volkov head the team.

Main achievements: Characterisation of key enzyme (PKC-beta) regulating microtubule cytoskeleton assembly and migration of normal and malignant T-cells (Nature Immunology, 2001). Establishing and supporting a multi-user micromanipulation and microscopic imaging facility with state-of-the-art facilities unique for the country and Europe. This facility includes Ultraview Live Cell Imager confocal workstation and Cellomics Kineticscan high contents screening system.

The group is currently involved in a large-scale interdisciplinary research collaboration at the level of the College and DMMC aimed at development of integrated technological tool-kit for research, diagnostics and new treatment methods in inflammation. This currently involves several research groups focusing on the following research and technological areas:

• Department of Physics – development of microfluidics platform for miniaturized high throughput studies, diagnostics and drug screening under regulated shear stress conditions
• Department of Chemistry – quantum nanodots for biomedical applications (new therapeutic drug delivery systems)
• Department of Mechanical Engineering – complex precision machined surfaces imitating physiological microenvironments

Cellix Biochips

Cellix is an emerging instrumentation company formed from a collaborative partnership between the Department of Clinical Medicine and Physics in Trinity College Dublin. Cellix will provide new and exciting microfluidic technology based solutions in the areas of drug discovery, diagnostics, biotechnology and medical research. Cellix has developed and produced a range of disposable biochips capable of mimicking human capillaries.

Cellix biochips allow detailed dissection of disease processes at the cellular level where shear stress or continuous flow parameters are known to affect physiologic events. This figure above shows the different biochip modules that function together to allow researchers to mimick in vivo microenvironments.