Read press release Taija Makinen
London Research Institute
44 Lincoln's Inn Fields
London
WC2A 3LY
United Kingdom
Web: Lab website
About Taija Makinen
Dr Taija Makinen and her team at our London Research Institute are studying a network of tubes and glands, called the lymphatic system, which carries fluid and waste products around the body. Tumours can encourage the growth of new lymphatic vessels, and cancer cells can travel through them to spread to other parts of the body.
Dr Makinen and her team have discovered some molecules that are needed for lymphatic vessels to grow and develop properly as an embryo develops in the womb and after birth. The researchers think these molecules may also play an important role in helping cancers to spread through the lymphatic system.
Understanding how a healthy lymphatic system develops will provide clues as to how to stop cancer cells using this network to their advantage, and may lead to new ways to stop the disease spreading.
Other research projects by Taija Makinen
Publications
EphB-ephrin-B2 interactions are required for thymus migration during organogenesis
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.2010;107 :13414-13419
Integrin-alpha9 is required for fibronectin matrix assembly during lymphatic valve morphogenesis.
Dev Cell.2009;17 :175-186
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