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Medical College of Wisconsin School of Graduate Studies U1-Research 2F Microscope Lab-Grad-hero
Gwen Heywood

Gwen Heywood

Graduate Student

Program

  • Interdisciplinary Program in Biomedical Sciences

Biography

Mentor: Elizabeth Sweeny, PhD
Year Entered MCW: 2024
Previous Education: BS, Cell Biology and Physiology, University of Lille, FR; Taiwan International Internship Program, Taipei, TW

Research Interests

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is a common and life-threatening complication of type 2 diabetes. My research is focused on the renal mesangial cell and the role of superoxide-producing NADPH Oxidase 5 (NOX5) in DKD-associated cellular dysfunction. Mesangial cell proliferation, inflammation and fibrosis—all hallmarks of diabetic kidney disease— have been reported to be NOX5-dependent, while NOX5’s effect on F-actin polymerization and cell migration remains unexplored. We hypothesize NOX5 to be the key driver of mesangial cell dysfunction in diabetic kidney disease.

To investigate NOX5’s role in mesangial cell disease, we perform a series of experiments on a primary human mesangial cell line: immunofluorescent imaging, examining the ratio of F-actin to total actin, and cell migration assays, all with and without NOX5 siRNA knockdown. Through these preliminary studies, we have found the increased F-actin polymerization and increased cell migration induced by high glucose exposure to be attenuated by NOX5 knockdown. This project aims to test NOX5’s role in actin cytoskeleton disassembly and cell migration and discern the cell signaling pathways and protein partners necessary for this pathological phenotype. In our HEK293 cell lines that transiently and stably express NOX5, our lab has found NOX5 to be activated by the V-ATPase, an enzyme involved in cell migration. We have observed both proteins to contribute the migration of PSN-1 pancreatic adenocarcinoma cells. This project seeks understanding the synergy between NOX5 and the vacuolar ATPase (V-ATPase) in driving cell migration.


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