Mechanisms of deconstruction and reconstruction of dermal fat in injury repair
Grantee: Esther Hoste, Assistant Professor, VIB-UGent Center for Inflammation Research
Amount: DKK 3,600,450
Grant category: Serendipity Grants
Year: 2024
Geography: Belgium
Esther Hoste’s project aims to elucidate the role of regulated cell death in adipocytes in relation to injury repair.
In preliminary studies, funded by her LEO Foundation Award in 2022, and investigating keratinocytes in injury repair, Esther Hoste and her team, to their surprise, observed cell death executioner events in adipocytes, implicating lytic and non-lytic adipocyte death in skin wound healing. While adipocyte plasticity is documented as an integral part of skin repair, little is known about the pathways mediating this process. However, rebuilding the adipocyte layer is crucial for restoring skin function after injury.