My laboratory is interested in the mechanisms of action and the roles played by various signaling pathways in the development, the maintenance of tissue homeostasis and the functions of endocrine tissues such as the testis and the adrenal cortex. Over the past few years, our attention has focused on the role of the Hippo signaling pathway, an evolutionarily conserved pathway that plays crucial roles in cell proliferation and differentiation. Through functional genomic approaches (cell cultures and transgenic mouse models), we have recently demonstrated that this signaling pathway is essential for the development of the testes and the adrenal glands.
Currently, we are continuing our studies on this signaling pathway to understand its mechanism of action in mature Sertoli cells and gain a better understanding of how these cells maintain a structural, nutritional and immunoprotective environment necessary for the maturation of germ cells.
