Dr. Marco Seandel's research interests focus on the influence of extrinsic signals in mediating normal stem cell and tumor cell fate in mammals, using the male germline stem cell as a model system. Novel genetic approaches have been implemented to identify and prospectively track primitive germ cell populations in the adult testis of both mice and humans, using a combination of in vitro and in vivo systems. The molecular mechanisms by which such stem cells preserve the ability to switch to a pluripotent state are being investigated. Normal male germline stem cells exhibit striking phenotypic similarities to adult human germ cell tumor, the pathogenesis of which is also a major emphasis of the research.
Seandel M, Butler JM, Kobayashi H, Hooper AT, White IA, Zhang F, Vertes EL, Kobayashi M, Zhang Y, Shmelkov SV, Hackett NR, Rabbany S, Boyer JL, Rafii S. Generation of a functional and durable vascular niche by the adenoviral E4ORF1 gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2008 Dec 9;105(49):19288-93.
Seandel M, Falciatori I, Shmelkov SV, Kim J, James D, Rafii S. Niche players: spermatogonial progenitors marked by GPR125. Cell Cycle. 2008 Jan 15;7(2):135-40.
Seandel M, James D, Shmelkov SV, Falciatori I, Kim J, Chavala S, Scherr DS, Zhang F, Torres R, Gale NW, Yancopoulos GD, Murphy A, Valenzuela DM, Hobbs RM, Pandolfi PP, Rafii S. Generation of functional multipotent adult stem cells from GPR125+ germline progenitors. Nature. 2007 Sep 20;449(7160):346-50.