Working under the supervision of Dr Neena Kalia, Dr Kavanagh’s research is focussed on Hematopoietic and (HSC) mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) can migrate to injured tissues and help in tissue repair. However, the events that govern their recruitment to injured tissue microcirculation are unclear. Therefore, our research focuses on examining the molecular adhesive events involved in HSC/MSC recruitment to different vascular beds following injury, including the liver, gut, kidney and muscle. Inflammatory and stem cell trafficking is monitored predominantly by state-of-the-art confocal based intravital microscopy which allows real-time and dynamic microcirculatory images to be captured in vivo. This technique allows numerous microcirculatory disturbances to be quantitated including the various events of the adhesion cascade (rolling/adhesion/transmigration) and also changes in vascular integrity.
Kavanagh DPJ and Kalia N (2011), “Molecular adhesive mechanisms governing stem cell homing to injured tissues”., In: Georgescu, A. (eds.), (2011) Vascular Cell Biology to Cardiovascular Medicine.
Kavanagh DPJ and Kalia N (2011). Stem Cell Homing to injured tissues [review], Stem Cell Reviews and Reports. [Epub ahead of print].
Sadej R, Romanska H, Kavanagh DPJ, Takahashi T, Kalia N, Berditchevski F (2010). Tetraspanin CD151 regulates TGF beta signalling: implication in tumour metastasis. Cancer Research. 2010 Jun; 70(14):6059-70
Kavanagh DPJ, Durant LE, Crosby HA, PF Lalor, Frampton J, Adams DH, Kalia N (2010) Haematopoietic stem cell recruitment to injured murine liver sinusoids depends on α4β1 / VCAM-1 interactions. Gut. 59(1):79-87
Hampson P, Kavanagh DP, Smith E, Wang K, Lord JM, Ed Rainger G (2008). The anti-tumor agent, ingenol-3-angelate (PEP005), promotes the recruitment of cytotoxic neutrophils by activation of vascular endothelial cells in a PKC-delta dependent manner. Cancer Immunology, Immunotherapy. 57(8):1241-51
Challacombe JM, Suhrbier A, Parsons PG, Jones B, Hampson P, Kavanagh DP, Rainger GE, Morris M, Lord JM, Le TT, Hoang-Le D, Ogbourne SM (2006). Neutrophils are a key component of the antitumor efficacy of topical chemotherapy with ingenol-3-angelate. Journal of Immunology. 177(11):8123-32