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SUMMARY:Early mammalian development and its regulation - Dr Vincent Pasque
 \; KU Leuven
DTSTART:20221129T133000Z
DTEND:20221129T143000Z
UID:TALK178511@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Bobbie Claxton
DESCRIPTION:The Pasque laboratory aims to understand the developmental pro
 grams that shape the early human embryo. Specifically\, we are interested 
 in how the first cellular lineages are generated and how gene regulatory p
 rograms are controlled.\n\nOur lab identified chromatin regulators that op
 pose the induction of alternative cell fates during somatic cell reprogram
 ming. We have characterized new stem-cell based early human post-implantat
 ion models and showed that human naive pluripotent stem cells model human 
 extraembryonic mesoderm development. We have also contributed to understan
 ding the epigenetic reprogramming process of X-chromosome reactivation. Re
 cently\, we discovered that mammalian cells possess intrinsic chromatin re
 gulatory mechanisms that counteract X-chromosome gene dosage imbalances ca
 used by evolutionary and in vitro X-chromosome loss as well as X-chromosom
 e inactivation in mammalian cells. \n\nTowards our aims\, we use a variety
  of mammalian systems including 2D and 3D human and mouse pluripotent stem
  cell-based embryo and reprogramming models including human blastoids and 
 induced pluripotent stem cell reprogramming. We are particularly intereste
 d in X-chromosome inactivation as a paradigm to study epigenetic mechanism
 s during development. The methods we use are interdisciplinary and include
  single-cell (multi)omics\, advanced imaging and computational approaches.
  For perturbations we use CRISPR\, RNA interference and drug treatments. T
 he outcome of perturbations are then analysed and validated using a variet
 y of assays including the use of human embryos.\n\nIn the first part of th
 e talk\, I will present our discovery that mammalian cells can sense the n
 umber of active X chromosomes present in a cell and adapt gene dosage acco
 rdingly. I will present our efforts to chart the chromatin dynamics and ge
 ne expression changes that take place during somatic cell reprogramming to
  iPS cell.\n\nIn the second part\, I will present a new 2D model of early 
 human post implantation embryogenesis. I will show that primate-specific c
 ell diversification after implantation including the extraembryonic mesode
 rm primary blood progenitor lineage can be modelled using human naïve plu
 ripotent stem cells.\n\nIn the third part\, I will present our efforts to 
 use single-cell multi-omics to reconstruct the gene regulatory programs of
  early human embryos and comprehensively analyse the effects of chromosoma
 l defects on developmental progression\, gene expression and the gene regu
 latory networks underlying human pre-implantation development.\n\nBrief bi
 o\n2006 BSc\, MSc in Biochemistry\, University of Liege\, Belgium\n2007 MP
 hil University of Cambridge\, UK\n2012 PhD University of Cambridge\, UK\n2
 012-2015 Postdoc UCLA\, USA\n2015 Group leader & Assistant professor\, KU 
 Leuven\, Belgium\n2020 Group leader & Associate professor\, KU Leuven\, Be
 lgium\n
LOCATION:Queen Edith's Room\; Babraham Research Campus
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