The Lombardo Lab

Exploring the  Intersection of Biology and Physics in Cell Polarity 



Telling up from down


The polarity of cells is a basic biological necessity required for their function. The underlying organizer of cell morphology is the cytoskeleton where biological filaments collaborate for spatial and temporal governance. Actin cytoskeletal filaments interact intimately with the plasma membrane and serve multiple roles to simultaneously define and regulate the physical structure of the cell, and act as the tracks for intracellular trafficking. Additionally, myosin motors are associated with all actin networks where they apply forces, deliver membrane bound cargo, and ultimately help define the dynamic three-dimensional shape of each cellular structure and achieve cellular polarity.

 

The goal of our research is to uncover the underlying molecular mechanisms governing cell polarity.



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Our work advances this goal by combining two powerful disciplines:  1) Top-down cell biological analysis of the mechanism underlying epithelial apical polarity.2) Bottom-up biophysical single molecule techniques reconstituting basic molecular mechanisms in vitro. We apply this expertise to address the basic scientific framework that cells use to polarize.

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Find out more about how actin and myosin drive cell polarity by searching for my latest publications