Dr Nicoletta Bobola Ph.D
Lecturer in Craniofacial Biology
- Email: nicoletta.bobola@manchester.ac.uk
- Telephone: +44 (0)161 3060642
School of Dentistry
Room 3.013 AV Hill Building
Oxford Road
Manchester
M13 9PT
Role
I graduated in 1989 with a degree in Biology from the University of Genova, Italy. I did Doctoral Studies in Medical Genetics at the University of Genova, Italy and the Institute of Molecular Pathology, Vienna, Austria between 1993 and 1996. I was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Max-Planck Institute of Immunobiology in Freiburg, Germany in 2000. Between 2001 and 2006 I was a Junior Group Leader at this Institute.
Research
Hox genes are key regulator of embryonic development in all animals with bilateral symmetry. Their products are transcription factors that activate and repress downstream genes. The nature of Hox targets is mostly unknown in vertebrates.
In the cranial neural crest, a transient cell population of the vertebrate embryo, Hox genes act by restricting the differentiation potential of these cells. Both neural crest populations that emigrate from the cranial or trunk portions of the neural tube differentiate into a variety of cell types (including neurons glia and melanocytes). However, only the cranial neural crest can differentiate into the bone and cartilage producing cells, which will make most of the skeleton of the face and the neck. This specific property of the cranial neural crest is not understood and it inversely correlates with the expression of Hox genes; in support of this view, fate mapping studies trace the development of the facial skeleton back to the cranial neural crest originating from Hox-negative areas of the neural tube.
By applying a combination of functional, genomics and transcriptional approaches to the developing mouse embryo, the lab is focused in understanding how Hox genes control the differentiation of the cranial neural crest and, more in general, how they direct morphogenesis in the vertebrate embryo.
In the cranial neural crest, a transient cell population of the vertebrate embryo, Hox genes act by restricting the differentiation potential of these cells. Both neural crest populations that emigrate from the cranial or trunk portions of the neural tube differentiate into a variety of cell types (including neurons glia and melanocytes). However, only the cranial neural crest can differentiate into the bone and cartilage producing cells, which will make most of the skeleton of the face and the neck. This specific property of the cranial neural crest is not understood and it inversely correlates with the expression of Hox genes; in support of this view, fate mapping studies trace the development of the facial skeleton back to the cranial neural crest originating from Hox-negative areas of the neural tube.
By applying a combination of functional, genomics and transcriptional approaches to the developing mouse embryo, the lab is focused in understanding how Hox genes control the differentiation of the cranial neural crest and, more in general, how they direct morphogenesis in the vertebrate embryo.
Selected publications
2012
- Ian J. Donaldson; Shilu Amin; James J. Hensman; Eva Kutejova; Magnus Rattray; Neil Lawrence; Andrew Hayes; Christopher M. Ward; Nicoletta Bobola. (2012). Genome-wide occupancy links Hoxa2 to Wnt-{beta}-catenin signaling in mouse embryonic development. Nucleic Acids Research, eScholarID:145359 | DOI:10.1093/nar/gkr1240
2011
- Kirilenko P, He G, Mankoo B, Mallo M, Jones R, Bobola N. (2011). Transient activation of Meox1 is an early component of the gene regulatory network downstream of Hoxa2. Mol Cell Biol, eScholarID:111380 | DOI:10.1128/MCB.00705-10
2010
- He, G., Tavella, S., Hanley, K., Self, M., Oliver, G., Grifone, R., Hanley, N., Ward, C. & Bobola, N (2010). Inactivation of Six2 in mouse identifies a novel genetic mechanism controlling development and growth of the cranial base. Dev Biol, (344), 720-730. eScholarID:83585 | PMID:20515681 | DOI:10.1016/j.ydbio.2010.05.509
- Tavella, S. & Bobola, N (2010). Expressing Hoxa2 across the entire endochondral skeleton alters the shape of the skeletal template in a spatially restricted fashion. Differentiation, 79(3), 194-202. eScholarID:83584 | PMID:20034726 | DOI:10.1016/j.diff.2009.11.004
2008
- Bobola N, Engist B. (2008). IGFBP5 is a potential regulator of craniofacial skeletogenesis. Genesis, 46( 1), 52-9. eScholarID:1d17149
- Kutejova E, Engist B, Self M, Oliver G, Kirilenko P, Bobola N. (2008). Six2 functions redundantly immediately downstream of Hoxa2. Development, 135( 8), 1463-70. eScholarID:1d17148 | DOI:10.1242/dev.017624
2005
- Carapuco M, Navoa A, Bobola N, Mallo M. (2005). Hox genes specify vertebral types in the presomitic mesoderm. Genes Dev, 19( 18), 2116-21. eScholarID:1d14638 | DOI:10.1101/gad.338705
- Kutejova E, Engist B, Mallo M, Kanzler B, Bobola N. (2005). Hoxa2 downregulates Six2 in the neural crest-derived mesenchyme. Development, 132( 3), 469-78. eScholarID:1d14639 | DOI:10.1242/dev.01536
2003
- Bobola N, Carapuco M, Ohnemus S, Kanzler B, Leibbrandt A, Neubuser A, Drouin J, Mallo M. (2003). Mesenchymal patterning by Hoxa2 requires blocking Fgf-dependent activation of Ptx1. Development, 130( 15), 3403-14. eScholarID:1d14640 | DOI:10.1242/dev.00554
2001
- Ohnemus S, Bobola N, Kanzler B, Mallo M. (2001). Different levels of Hoxa2 are required for particular developmental processes. Mech Dev, 108( 1-2), 135-47. eScholarID:1d14641 | DOI:10.1016/S0925-4773(01)00502-0