Muriel Roulet, Ph.D.
Postdoctoral research fellow

Education
University of Lyon, France, 2007

Lab
Sarah Wilcox-Adelman

Research Interests
Syndecan-4, a transmembrane heparan-sulfate proteoglycan, and integrins signal cooperatively for the assembly of focal adhesions and actin stress fibers. Focal adhesions are macromolecular complexes that contain transmembrane receptors (syndecan-4 and integrins), cytoplasmic structural proteins (talin, vinculin, α-actin, tensin and paxillin) and signaling proteins (FAK, Src and PKC). Loss of syndecan-4 results in delayed cell migration. This is partly attributed to a decrease in the phosphorylation of the FAK resulting in delayed turnover of focal adhesion complexes. The diminished FAK activation does not fully explain the impaired mobility and we are actively examining the effect the loss of syndecan-4 has on other focal adhesion associated proteins. Two such proteins are ezrin and syndesmos. Ezrin, an ERM family protein present in focal adhesions, connects cell membrane receptors to the actin cytoskeleton and its activation promotes cell migration. Syndesmos is a cytoplasmic protein that enhances cell spreading. Both proteins interact with syndecan-4. Using dermal fibroblasts derived from syndecan-4 knockout mice, we are analyzing changes in their localization and signaling to better understand how syndecan-4 regulates their roles in focal adhesion formation, maintenance and migration.

Recent Publications
Ruggiero F, Roulet M, Bonod-Bidaud C. [Dermis collagens: beyond their structural properties] J Soc Biol. 2005;199(4):301-311. Review. French.

Roulet M, Ruggiero F, Karsenty G, LeGuellec D. A comprehensive study of the spatial and temporal expression of the col5a1 gene in mouse embryos: a clue for understanding collagen V function in developing connective tissues. Cell Tissue Res. 2007;327(2):323-332.

Torbet J, Malbouyres M, Builles N, Justin V, Roulet M, Damour O, Oldberg A, Ruggiero F, Hulmes DJ. Orthogonal scaffold of magnetically aligned collagen lamellae for corneal stroma reconstruction. Biomaterials. 2007;28(29):4268-4276.

Roulet M., Välkkilä M., Chanut-Delalande H., Hämäläinen E.-R., Bonod-Bidaud C., Kessler E., Ala-Kokko L., Männikkö M. and Ruggiero F. Towards improving the production level of recombinant collagen V heterotrimer using different expression systems. (In preparation).

Contact Details:
email: roulet@bbri.org, tel. 617-658-7835