Tina Tootle, PhD
Introduction
Prostaglandins are transiently acting lipid signals that are synthesized at their sites of action by cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes, the targets of Aspirin and Advil, to mediate a variety of biological activities, including inflammation, sleep, reproduction, and cancer development. How do prostaglandins regulate these diverse, cellular events? To address this question we have developed Drosophila oogenesis as a new and powerful model for studying prostaglandin signaling. Using both pharmacology and genetics, we have discovered that prostaglandins mediate Drosophila follicle development, identified the Drosophila COX1 enzyme, Pxt, and revealed that genetic perturbation of prostaglandin signaling can be used to exam the function of prostaglandins. This research on prostaglandin signaling implicates it in modulating actin/membrane dynamics, cell migration, stem cell activity, and the timing of gene expression during Drosophila follicle development. The lab is currently pursuing how prostaglandin signaling regulates actin dynamics and invasive cell migrations during Drosophila follicle development. By using a multifaceted experimental approach that combines Drosophila genetics, cell biology, live imaging, and biochemistry to we can begin to work out the mechanisms by which prostaglandins regulate these processes, and provide general insight into how prostaglandins regulate the cytoskeleton and migration at a cellular level. Such mechanisms of prostaglandin action are likely to be reutilized throughout development, including mediating the changes that occur during cancer progression and metastasis.
The lab is currently pursuing how prostaglandin signaling regulates actin both within the cytoskeleton and in the nucleus to control Drosophila follicle development. Specific areas of interest include understanding prostaglandin action during invasive, collective cell migration, the relationship of prostaglandins and lipid droplets in control actin cytoskeletal remodeling, the functions of prostaglandins and nuclear actin in stem cell biology, and the roles of prostaglandins in controlling nuclear actin levels to regulate nucleolar functions during homeostasis and in the context of cellular stress.
Current Positions
- Professor of Biology
- Professor of Anatomy and Cell Biology
Education
- BS in Microbiology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States
- PhD in Biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
- Postdoctoral Fellow in Prostaglandin signaling, Carnegie Institution for Science, Department of Embryology, Washington D.C., United States
Graduate Program Affiliations
Center, Program and Institute Affiliations
Research Interests
- Tootle Areas of Research Interest
Selected Publications
- Fox, E. F., Lamb, M. C., Mellentine, S. Q. & Tootle, T. L. (2020). Prostaglandins regulate invasive, collective border cell migration. Molecular Biology of the Cell15: 1584-1594 15 1584-1594. DOI: doi:10.1091/mbc.E19-10-0578. PMID: 32432969. PMCID: PMC7521797.
- Lamb, M. C., Anliker, K. K. & Tootle, T. L. (2020). Fascin regulates protrusions and delamination to mediateinvasive, collective cell migration in vivo. Developmental Dynamics 249 961-982. DOI: http://doi:10.1002/dvdy.186. PMID: 32352613.
- Tootle, T. L., Hoffmann, D. S., Allen, A., Spracklen, A., Groen, C. & Kelpsch, D. (In Press). Mini-course based undergraduate research experience: Impact on student understanding of STEM research and interest in STEM programs. Journal of College Science Teaching 48 44-54. DOI: 10.2505/4/jcst19_048_06_44.
- Kelpsch, D. & Tootle, T. L. (2018). Nuclear actin: from discovery to function. Anatomy Records (Hoboken) 301 (12) 1999-2013. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.23959. PMID: 30312531. PMCID: PMC6289869.
- Wineland, D. M., Kelpsch, D. J. & Tootle, T. L. (2018). Multiple pools of nuclear actin. The Anatomical Record 301 (12) 2014-2036. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ar.23964. PMID: 30312534. PMCID: PMC6293971.
- Jayo, A., Malboubi, M., Antoku, S., Chang, W., Ortiz-Zapater, E., Groen, C., Pfisterer, K., Tootle, T., Charras, G., Gundersen, G. & Parsons, M. (2016). Fascin regulates nuclear movement and deformation in migrating cells. Developmental Cell 38 (4) 371-383. DOI: 10.1016/j.devcel.2016.07.021. PMID: 27554857. PMCID: PMC4997957.
- Kelpsch, D. J., Groen, C. M., Fagan, T. N., Sudhir, S. & Tootle, T. L. (2016). Fascin regulates nuclear actin during Drosophila oogenesis. Molecular Biology of the Cell 27 (19) 2965-2979. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E15-09-0634. PMID: 27535426. PMCID: PMC5042582.
- Groen, C. M., Jayo, A., Parsons, M. & Tootle, T. L. (2015). Prostaglandins regulate nuclear localization of Fascin and its function in nucleolar architecture. Molecular Biology of the Cell 26 (10) 1901-1917. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E14-09-1384. PMID: 25808493.
- Spracklen, A. J., Fagan, T. N., Lovander, K. E. & Tootle, T. L. (2014). The pros and cons of common actin labeling tools for visualizing actin dynamics during Drosophila oogenesis. Developmental Biology 393 209-226. DOI: 10.1016/j.ydbio.2014.06.022. PMID: 24995797.
- Spracklen, A. J. & Tootle, T. L. (2013). The utility of stage specific mid-to-late Drosophila follicle isolation. Journal of Visual Experiments 82 50493. DOI: 10.3791/50493. PMID: 24326735.