| Project Leader: | Eileen Chen eychen0114@tamu.edu Biomedical Sciences |
| Faculty Mentor: |
Dr. Christopher Quick, Ph.D.
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Meeting Times:
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TBD
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Team Size:
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5 (Team Full)
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| Open Spots: | 0 |
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Special Opportunities:
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Students get the chance to gain biomedical research experience and work on and present a poster for Student Research Week.
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| Team Needs: |
Student must be able to meet on (time TBD) to discuss findings and further plan project, as well as meet to work on the project for 2 more hours throughout the week. LabView software experience is sought after but not required. Student needs to have a willingness to learn.
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Description:
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The Chicken Chorioallantoic Membrane (CAM) is a standard model to characterize tissue responses to tumors, anti-angiogenic drugs, and biomaterials. In each case, lymphatic function is of special interest because lymph transport affects interstitial pressure, delivery of nutrients and drugs to tissues, and transport of inflammatory mediators. Although there are rare cases where lymph flows passively, active propulsion of lymph in vertebrates arises from either periodic contraction of lymphatic muscle or periodic compression of lymphatic vessels by adjacent tissues. Neither the existence nor the absence of active lymph transport has been previously reported in the CAM. Therefore, the purpose of the present work is to evaluate whether it is possible to identify active lymph propulsion in the CAM model. We have identified four requirements to identify active lymph transport. 1) Grow ex ovo for embryonic days 7-12 to access each lymphatic vessel. 2) Maintain the specimen within a strict temperature range during observation to ensure normal vascular tone and vasomotion. 3) Visualize the presence of lymphatic valves. 4) Measure dynamic diameters of lymphatic vessels and adjacent blood vessels to quantify lymphatic vessel compression. It is important that students have a willingness to learn and show the ability to think creatively and overcome setbacks
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