Home Department: Human Biology
Mentor: Kristy Red-Horse (Biology)

“Cxcr4 Signaling Increases in Response to Cardiac Injury”

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading cause of death in the world, and new treatments for this disease are needed. A promising potential treatment is inducing collateral artery formation between coronary arteries, since collaterals serve as a natural bypass of the heart. Previous research has revealed that neonatal mice form collaterals in a Cxcl12/Cxcr4 signaling dependent manner. To understand the mechanism further, Lauren aims to characterize Cxcr4 activation in injured mouse hearts. After injury, Lauren will fix, section, immunostain, and image the hearts. With the images, she will analyze zones of increasing distance from the injury.