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| Name |
Vernadeth Alarcon |
| Affiliation |
JABSOM |
| Position |
Assistant Professor |
| Degree |
Ph.D. |
| Phone |
808-692-1417 |
| Fax |
808-692-1962 |
| Email |
vernadet@hawaii.edu |
| Address |
651 Ilalo St., BSB 163J |
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Research projects:
Morphogenesis and cell differentiation in the early embryo
Description of research:
Mammals, such as ourselves, are unique among other organisms in that the embryo needs to implant to the mother’s uterus and create the placenta to allow further development. To achieve such unique style of development, we have evolved to generate a special type of cells, called the trophectoderm, during very early stages of embryo development, which is dedicated for implantation and placenta formation. In fact, the very first and critical decision that the embryonic cells must make after fertilization is whether they commit to becoming part of the future body or the trophectoderm, i.e., the precursor of placenta. This first decision needs to be controlled very carefully in a balanced manner, because we cannot survive or develop further if one cell type (either “future body cells”, called the inner cell mass, or “future placenta cells”, the trophectoderm) is not generated sufficiently. Our lab’s research goal is to uncover the molecular mechanisms that control this early decision-making, using mouse embryos as well as mouse and human cell lines. We have identified candidate genes, including cell polarity regulators, and we are testing their roles in the embryo. We employ various experimental approaches, such as in vitro embryo culture, microinjection of the embryo, chimera production, embryo transfer into surrogate mothers’ reproductive tract, and cell and molecular biology techniques. Understanding the mechanisms of decision-making in the early embryo has applications in the treatment of infertility, especially in ART (assisted reproductive technologies). Our findings will serve as a basis for improving in vitro culture conditions of human embryos and for identifying healthy embryos for uterine transfer to produce successful pregnancies.
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Selected Publications:
- Alarcon, V.B., Filosa, M.F., Youson, J.H. (1994) Keratin polypeptides in the epidermis of the larval (ammocoete) sea lamprey, Petromyzon marinus L., show a cell type-specific immunolocalization. Canadian Journal of Zoology 72, 190-194.
- Hudson, J.W., Alarcon, V.B., Elinson, R.P. (1996) Identification of new localized RNAs in the Xenopus oocyte by differential display PCR. Developmental Genetics 19, 190-198.
- Alarcon, V.B., Filosa, M.F., Youson, J.H. (1997) Cytokeratins in the liver of the sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) before and after metamorphosis. Cell and Tissue Research 287, 365-374.
- Alarcon, V.B., Elinson, R.P. (2001) RNA anchoring in the vegetal cortex of the Xenopus oocyte. Journal of Cell Science 114, 1731-1741.
- Alarcon, V.B., Marikawa, Y. (2003) Deviation of the blastocyst axis from the first cleavage plane does not affect the quality of mouse postimplantation development. Biology of Reproduction 69, 1208-1212.
- Alarcon, V.B., Marikawa, Y. (2004) Molecular study of mouse peri-implantation development using the in vitro culture of aggregated inner cell mass. Molecular Reproduction and Development 67, 83-90.
- Marikawa, Y., Fujita, T.C., Alarcon, V.B. (2004) An enhancer-trap lacZ transgene reveals a distinct expression pattern of the Kinesin family 26B in mouse embryos. Development Genes and Evolution 214, 64-71.
- Marikawa, Y., Fujita, T.C., Alarcon, V.B. (2005) Heterogeneous DNA methylation status of the regulatory element of the mouse Oct4 gene in adult somatic cell population. Cloning and Stem Cells 7, 8-16.
- Hiiragi, T., Alarcon, V.B., Fujimori, T., Louvet-Vallee, S., Maleszewski, M., Marikawa, Y., Maro, B., Solter, D. (2006) Where do we stand now? Mouse early embryo patterning meeting in Freiburg, Germany (2005). International Journal of Developmental Biology 50, 581-588.
- Yamazaki, Y., Low, E.W., Marikawa, Y., Iwahashi, K., Bartolomei, M.S., McCarrey, J.R., Yanagimachi, R. (2005) Adult mice cloned from migrating primordial germ cells. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of USA 102, 11361-11366.
- Alarcon, V.B., Marikawa, Y. (2005) Unbiased contribution of the first two blastomeres to mouse blastocyst development. Molecular Reproduction and Development 72, 354-361.
- Yamazaki, Y., Fujita, T.C., Low, E.W., Alarcon, V.B., Yanagimachi, R., Marikawa, Y. (2006) Gradual DNA demethylation of the Oct4 promoter in cloned mouse embryos. Molecular Reproduction and Development 73, 180-188.
- Alarcon, V.B., Marikawa, Y. (2008) Spatial alignment of the mouse blastocyst axis across the first cleavage plane is caused by mechanical constraint rather than developmental bias among blastomeres. Molecular Reproduction and Development 75, 1143-1153.
- Tamashiro, D.A., Alarcon, V.B., Marikawa, Y. (2008) Ectopic expression of mouse Sry interferes with Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in mouse embryonal carcinoma cell lines. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta 1780, 1395-1402.
- Marikawa, Y., Tamashiro, D.A., Fujita, T.C., Alarcon, V.B. (2009) Aggregated P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma cells as a simple in vitro model to study the molecular regulations of mesoderm formation and axial elongation morphogenesis. Genesis 47, 93-106.
- Alarcon, V.B. (2010) Cell polarity regulator PARD6B is essential for trophectoderm formation in the preimplantation mouse embryo. Biology of Reproduction 83, 347-358.
- Marikawa, Y., Alarcon, V.B. (2009) Establishment of trophectoderm and inner cell mass lineages in the mouse embryo. Molecular Reproduction and Development 76, 1019-1032.
- Marikawa Y, Tamashiro DA, Fujita TC, Alarcon VB. (2011) Dual roles of Oct4 in the maintenance of mouse P19 embryonal carcinoma cells: as negative regulator of Wnt/β-catenin signaling and competence provider for Brachyury induction. Stem Cells Dev. 20, 621-33.
- Gelber K, Tamura AN, Alarcon VB, Marikawa Y. (2011) A potential use of embryonic stem cell medium for the in vitro culture of preimplantation embryos. J Assist Reprod Genet. 28, 659-68.
- Tamashiro DA, Alarcon VB, Marikawa Y. (2012) Nkx1-2 is a transcriptional repressor and is essential for the activation of Brachyury in P19 mouse embryonal carcinoma cell. Differentiation. 83, 282-92.
- Ortega, M.A., Marh, J., Alarcon, V.B., Ward, W.S. (in press) Unique pattern of ORC2 and MCM7 localization during DNA replication licensing in the mouse zygote. Biology of Reproduction.
- Marikawa, Y., Alarcon, V.B. (in press) Creation of trophectoderm, the first epithelium, in mouse preimplantation development. Mouse Development: From Oocyte to Stem Cells (edited by Kubiak, J.Z.), “Results and Problems in Cell Differentiation", ISBN 978-3-642-30405-7, Springer.
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Lab members
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Dana Tamashiro
Lab manager
danaat@hawaii.edu
LAB Phone: 692-1752
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Evan Mosier
Medical Student (class of 2015)
emosier@hawaii.edu
LAB Phone: 692-1752
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