발생학연구실

Our research aims to develop a new therapeutic strategy to treat spinal ligament ossification by targeting the mechanisms that drive heterotopic bone formation in spinal soft tissues or Achilles tendon. A central concept of the project is heterotopic ossification, the formation of mature bone in extraskeletal soft tissues such as ligaments, muscles, and fascia. Building on this idea, the research views heterotopic ossification as a disorder driven by diverse factors, including aberrant cell signaling, calcium ion dependent changes, and mechanical stimulation. We aim to discover new therapies by integrating these multiple mechanistic perspectives. Research on the mechanism of tendon development and formation. Our research focuses on uncovering the mechanisms that govern tendon formation and homeostasis, with particular emphasis on the signaling pathways that drive tenocyte differentiation and maturation. A central theme is to define how key developmental regulators such as SCX and mechanosensitive pathways including YAP/TAZ, TGFβ, and integrin signaling coordinate gene expression programs during tendon development. We mainly focus on Hippo signaling which is key signaling pathway for cell differentiation, cell proliferation, and organ sizing. Through tenogenesis cell culture system and observing Xenopus laevis embryo tendon structure, we can study about tendon developmental process. Study for rare pediatric disease using Xenopus laevis model. Our research focuses on understanding the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying pediatric rare diseases using Xenopus laevis as a vertebrate model organism. By exploiting the accessibility of early Xenopus embryos, we perform targeted gene perturbation through morpholino-mediated knockdown or CRISPR-based genome editing, enab