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Martine Dunnwald, PharmD, PhD

Research Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology

Introduction

My research interests involve skin, epidermal development and regeneration, and orofacial clefts. The homeostasis of the epidermis is provided by stem cells that persist through the lifetime of the organism and allow the continuous renewal of the tissue. These epidermal cells (keratinocytes) execute a well-ordered program of differentiation that leads to four distinct layers, the outermost providing a barrier function to the environment that is essential for life. We identified Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 (IRF6) as a key regulator of epidermal proliferation and differentiation. In human, mutations in IRF6 cause two orofacial clefting syndromes. We are currently investigating the idea that the development of the palate and the development of the epidermis of the skin share common pathways.

When I don’t teach or think about skin development, I love to travel the world and discover new countries. I never leave without my camera to capture local scenes. I am a fervent hiker and camper to feel connected with mother nature. I like to create things, including jewelry, and I take my knitting needles wherever I go. I am a passionate biker, both for rides on the road and for everyday mode of transportation. I also love music, whether it is listening to local artists or playing the piano or the pipe organ, inspired by my family connection to Albert Schweitzer. Although my two boys are out of the house, I continue to cherish family time when they come home.

Current Positions

  • Research Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology

Education

  • L. Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France in Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Strasbourg, France
  • PharmD in Pharmacy, Industry/Research track, L. Pasteur University, Strasbourg, France, Strasbourg, France
  • PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada, Quebec, Canada
  • Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington, USA

Graduate Program Affiliations

Center, Program and Institute Affiliations

Research Interests

  • My lab has two main interests: epidermal development/wound healing and craniofacial development. Our work has demonstrated that they share many pathways both during development and tissue repair, as well as the cell types constituting these tissues. Epidermal development and wound healing. Mice deficient for Irf6 show a taut skin that lacks barrier function. Their epidermis shows a complete absence of the 2 most upper layers. Here are a few questions we are currently investigating in the lab related to this topic: • What is the function of IRF6 in early epidermal differentiation? • What is the function of IRF6 in cell-cell adhesions? • Can IRF6 have a non-transcriptional function? Craniofacial development. In humans, mutations in ARHGAP29 leads to orofacial clefting. Arhgap29 is an inactivator of RhoA, and a downstream effector of Irf6. We are investigating its function in palatogenesis. Here are a few questions we are currently investigating in the lab related to this topic: • Is Arhgap29 required for palatogenesis? If so, in which cells? • How does Arhgap29 promote palatogenesis? • Can Arhgap29 regulate tissue forces during morphogenesis? Overall technique and lab: My lab uses a combination of tissue/cell culture from mouse and human samples to answer scientific questions. We do a lot of protein expression by immunofluorescence to determine spatial and temporal regulation of key players during development. We love to look at tissues and cells under all kinds of microscopes and take amazing pictures. When possible, we use live imaging or other microscopic technique to dive further into details. We are a small research group passionate about skin and craniofacial development.

Selected Publications

  • Antiguas, A., Dunnwald, M. A novel non-canonical function for IRF6 in the recycling of E-cadherin. Mol Biol Cell 2024 35(7);ar102, 1-12 doi: 10.1091/mbc.E23-11-0430 PMID: 38809584
  • Antiguas, A., Paul, B. J., Dunnwald, M. To stick or not to stick: adhesions in orofacial clefts. Biology, 11(2):153, 2022. doi: 10.3390/biology11020153. PMCID: PMC8869391
  • Antiguas, A., DeMali, K. A., Dunnwald, M. Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 regulates the delivery of E-cadherin to the plasma membrane. J Invest Dermatol 142(2), 314-322, 2022 doi: 10.1016/j.jid.2021.06.031. PMID: 34310950
  • Paul, B., Palmer, K., Rhea, L., Carlson, M., Sharp, J., Pratt, H., Murray, S. A., Dunnwald, M. Mafb is not required for palatogenesis in the mouse. Dev Dyn March 14, 2021 doi: 10.1002/dvdy.327 PMID: 33715275
  • Rhea, L., Dunnwald, M. Murine excisional wound healing model and histological morphometric wound analysis. J Vis Exp Aug 21 (162), 2020. doi: 10.3791/61616. PMID: 32894272
  • Paul, B. J., Palmer, K. J., Rhea, L., Carlson, M., Sharp, J. C., Pratt, C. H., Murray, S. A. & Dunnwald, M. (2021). The Mafb cleft-associated variant H131Q is not required for palatogenesis in the mouse. Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists. DOI: 10.1002/dvdy.327. PMID: 33715275.
  • Rhea, L., Canady, F. J., Le, M., Reeb, T., Canady, J. W., Kacmarynski, D. S. F., Avvari, R., Biggs, L. C., Dunnwald, M. Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 is required for proper wound healing in vivo. Dev Dyn Nov 14, 2019 doi: 10.1002/dvdy.134 PMID 31724286
  • Biggs, L. C., Naridze, R. L., Demali, K. A., Lusche, D. F., Kuhl, S., Soll, D. R., Schutte, B. C., Dunnwald, M.Interferon regulatory factor 6 regulates keratinocyte migration. J Cell Sci, 127 (13): 2840-2848, 2014 PMCID: PMC4075356
  • Leslie, E. J., Mansilla, M. A., Biggs, L. C., Schuette, K., Bullard, S., Cooper, M., Dunnwald, M., Lidral, A. C., Marazita, M. L., Beaty, T. H., Murray, J. C. Expression and mutation analyses implicate ARHGAP29 as the etiologic gene for the cleft lip with or without cleft palate locus identified by genome-wide association on chromosome 1p22. Birth Defects Res A Clin Mol Teratol 94(11); 934-942, 2012 PMCID: PMC3501616
  • Biggs, L. C., Rhea, L., Schutte, B. C., Dunnwald, M. Interferon Regulatory Factor 6 is necessary but not sufficient for epidermal differentiation. J Invest Dermatol 132(1): 50-58, 2012 PMCID: PMC3237898