Speaker: Dr. Montserrat Corominas
Group Leader - Regulation of gene expression / Developmental Biology and Genomics, Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona (IBUB), Spain
Presentation
Host: Dr. Jordi Casanova, Group Leader - Development and Morphogenesis in Drosophila - IRB Barcelona
Node: Cell Pathophysiology
Date: Wednesday 28 January 2026, 12:00h
Place: Auditorium Room - PCB
Tissue regeneration is driven by dynamic changes in gene regulation at the chromatin level. Following injury, early damage signals are integrated into chromatin to induce transcriptional reprogramming in responding cells. Our studies in Drosophila imaginal discs and mammalian liver regeneration show that this process relies on coordinated activation and repression of specific gene sets through diverse cis-regulatory elements, including regeneration-specific enhancers, repurposed developmental enhancers, and enhancers with increased activity after injury. These elements recruit conserved transcription factors to activate regenerative programs while transiently suppressing normal tissue-specific functions. In addition to linear regulatory mechanisms, regeneration involves changes in three-dimensional genome organization, such as altered chromatin compartmentalization and regeneration-specific chromatin loops, which are essential for proper tissue repair. Together, these findings highlight regeneration as a highly coordinated process involving chromatin dynamics, enhancer regulation, and genome architecture.
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