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Cell Growth (Size) Regulation There is an increasing appreciation that the regulation of cell size plays critical roles in many biological phenomena. In mammals, changes in cell size rather than cell number underlie important physiological changes in organ size, such as heart enlargement induced by exercise or liver shrinking caused by starvation. During development changes in cell size are frequent, perhaps best exemplified by the massive increase in cell size that accompanies the differentiation and arborization of neurons. We now know that derangements of cell size underlie certain human diseases. These include tuberous sclerosis complex, a mental retardation and tumor-prone syndrome, as well as pathological cardiac hypertrophy. We are studying at the biochemical, cellular and organismal level a signaling network called the mTOR pathway. This pathway is emerging as a critical integrator of growth signals in mammals and is under the control of nutrients, stress, and growth factors like insulin. We are interested in understanding how the mTOR pathway senses and integrates upstream signals and coordinates cell growth with the cell cycle. We are also studying the function of novel components of the pathway in mice.
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