Pekka Katajisto's Group
Tissue stem cells and aging

Our body is constantly renewed by tissue specific stem cells, which produce cells undertaking specialized functions and new stem cells maintaining the future renewal capacity. In a young body, such stem cells can easily counter the wear and tear of everyday life by replacing damaged cells with new ones. However, as we age, capacity of stem cells declines, and the resulting drop in tissue repair manifests as the functional decline associated with aging. Our goal is to understand why stem cell activity deteriorates with age, and to develop stem cell based strategies targeting aging related diseases and ailments.

Projects
- ASYMMETRIC SEGREGATION OF ORGANELLES DURING STEM CELL DIVISION
- CELLULAR METABOLISM AND CELL FATE
- IMPACT OF THE STEM CELL NICHE ON AGING
Fundings
-
VR
-
Cancerfonden
-
Karolinska Institute Consolidator Grant
-
ERC

Group Members
Pekka Katajisto – PI
Agustín Sola Carvajal – Research specialist
Rodrigo Lozano – Postdoc
Sandra Scharaw – Postdoc
Anna Webb – PhD Student
Daniel Borshagovski – PhD Student
Selected Publications
Notum produced by Paneth cells attenuates regeneration of aged intestinal epithelium.
Pentinmikko N, Iqbal S, Mana M, Andersson S, Cognetta AB, Suciu RM, et al
Nature 2019 07;571(7765):398-402
A Wnt-producing niche drives proliferative potential and progression in lung adenocarcinoma.
Tammela T, Sanchez-Rivera FJ, Cetinbas NM, Wu K, Joshi NS, Helenius K, et al
Nature 2017 05;545(7654):355-359
Stem cells. Asymmetric apportioning of aged mitochondria between daughter cells is required for stemness.
Katajisto P, Döhla J, Chaffer CL, Pentinmikko N, Marjanovic N, Iqbal S, et al
Science 2015 Apr;348(6232):340-3
mTORC1 in the Paneth cell niche couples intestinal stem-cell function to calorie intake.
Yilmaz ÖH, Katajisto P, Lamming DW, Gültekin Y, Bauer-Rowe KE, Sengupta S, et al
Nature 2012 Jun;486(7404):490-5
Rapamycin-induced insulin resistance is mediated by mTORC2 loss and uncoupled from longevity.
Lamming DW, Ye L, Katajisto P, Goncalves MD, Saitoh M, Stevens DM, et al
Science 2012 Mar;335(6076):1638-43