Vascular Diversity Laboratory
Lymphatics | Blood Vessels | Cellular Identity
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Rudra Nayan Das, PhD
Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE)
Delhi - NCR, India
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Publications
Generation of specialized blood vessels via
lymphatic transdifferentiation
This publication provides the first in vivo evidence of existence of a developmental mechanism where specialized blood vessels are formed through the reprogramming of lymphatic endothelial cells. This was surprising because it was thought that once endothelial cells acquire a lymphatic vessel fate, they don't change into anything else under homeostatic conditions.
Our findings also reveal that these lymphatic-derived vessels possess unique blood flow patterns. This work not only underscores the significance of cellular lineage in tissue functionality but also marks a pivotal advancement in understanding vascular diversity and lymphatic vessel adaptability.
Our publication was highlighted in the following News & Views article in Nature Cardiovascular Research
Lymphatic-to-blood vessel transdifferentiation in zebrafish
Discovering New Progenitor Cell Populations through Lineage Tracing and In Vivo Imaging
Identification of progenitor cells that generate differentiated cell types during development, regeneration, and disease states is central to understanding the mechanisms governing such transitions. Over a century, different lineage-tracing strategies have been developed, which helped disentangle the complex relationship between progenitor cells and their progenies. In this review, we discuss how lineage-tracing analyses have evolved alongside technological advances, and how this approach has contributed to the identification of progenitor cells in different contexts of cell differentiation. It highlights key examples where lineage tracing resolved longstanding debates and revealed unexpected cellular origins.