The Carlone Lab

Bone Biology

Research Focus

The Carlone lab focuses on identifying thefactors that regulate self-renewal anddifferentiation ofprogenitor/stem cells in the skeleton.Using gene deletion studies,shehasrecently identified the epigenetic factor, CXXC finger protein1 (Cfp1), as a critical regulator of skeletal cell differentiation during 1)the initiation of progenitor cell differentiation in the developing limb, 2)chondrocyte hypertrophy and growth plate development and 3)craniofacial development. Cfp1 acts in part through augmentingcellular signaling. Current projects in the lab focus on identifying thedirect targets of Cfp1, defining the mechanism by which it regulatessignaling and assessing whether Cfp1 competes with otherepigenetic factors at specific chromatin regions to regulatetranscription and cellular action. Additional projects involve alteringcellular signaling and/or the chromatin state in progenitor cells torescue skeletaldefects. A variety of techniques are currently beingused in the lab including qRT-PCR, immunohistochemistry, cellculture, Western blot analysis, and ChIP assays. In addition, wholegenome (ChIP-sequencing, ATAC-sequencing), transcriptomic (RNA-sequencing) and proteomic analyses are underway to further ourunderstanding of Cfp1 action.