Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow and Professor
4 South 0.46
Email: W.Wood@bath.ac.uk
Tel: +44 (0) 1225 386261
Prof Will Wood
Profile
Current Research
Cell movement is an essential process during both embryonic development and throughout adult life. The failure of cells to migrate to their appropriate locations can result in severe abnormalities or disease. It is therefore vital that the mechanism controlling cell migration is fully understood. .
My lab uses Drosophila embryonic hemocytes as a model to study cell migration and chemotaxis in the context of a living organism. Hemocytes are large, macrophage-like cells that patrol tissues, recognising and engulfing apoptotic corpses in the embryo and pathogens in the larval and adult fly. During embryonic development hemocytes leave their point of origin in the head mesoderm, and crawl along specified pathways to populate the entire embryo by late embryogenesis. This process is highly regulated and adheres to a developmental programme with cells always migrating along the same stereotypical pathways within the embryo. As well as undergoing these developmental migrations, embryonic hemocytes will also rapidly chemotax toward an epithelial wound in a process that closely resembles vertebrate inflammation.
Using confocal live imaging and the powerful methods of experimental genetics available in Drosophila we are uncovering the signals that guide hemocytes during their migrations and which cells are responsible for producing those signals. We are studying the nature and regulation of the actin protrusions observed in hemocytes and are interested in understanding the molecular mechanism by which these cells are able to sense and polarise toward an attractive source, be it a wound or the signals that direct their migration throughout the embryo. We are taking a genetic approach to discover novel genes required for cell migration and are investigating whether hemocytes use the same or similar components of the same molecular mechanisms to achieve these two very different types of in vivo migration.
Publications
Evans, I., Ghai, P., Urbančič, V., Tan, K. L. and Wood, W., 2013. SCAR/WAVE-mediated processing of engulfed apoptotic corpses is essential for effective macrophage migration in Drosophila. Cell Death and Differentiation, 20 (5), pp. 709-720.
Razzell, W., Evans, I. R., Martin, P. and Wood, W., 2013. Calcium Flashes Orchestrate the Wound Inflammatory Response through DUOX Activation and Hydrogen Peroxide Release. Current biology : CB, 23 (5), pp. 424-9.
Burley, K., Huelsmann, S., Evans, I., Sánchez-Sánchez, B. J., Chalmers, A., Reuter, R., Wood, W. and Martín-Bermudo, M. D., 2013. A dual role for the βPS integrin myospheroid in mediating Drosophila embryonic macrophage migration. Journal of Cell Science
Wood, W. and Eming, S.A., 2012. Repair or regenerate: How can we tip the balance? EMBO Reports, 13 (12), pp. 1040-1042.
Wood, W., 2012. Wound healing: Calcium flashes illuminate early events. Current Biology, 22 (1), R14-R16.
Vlisidou, I., Waterfield, N. and Wood, W., 2012. Elucidating the in vivo targets of Photorhabdus toxins in real-time using Drosophila embryos. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, 710, pp. 49-57.
Razzell, W., Wood, W. and Martin, P., 2011. Swatting flies: modelling wound healing and inflammation in Drosophila. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 4 (5), pp. 569-574.
Evans, I. R. and Wood, W., 2011. Understanding in vivo blood cell migration Drosophila hemocytes lead the way. Fly, 5 (2), pp. 110-114.
Evans, I. R. and Wood, W., 2011. Drosophila embryonic hemocytes. Current Biology, 21 (5), R173-R174.
Tucker, P. K., Evans, I. R. and Wood, W., 2011. Ena drives invasive macrophage migration in Drosophila embryos. Disease Models & Mechanisms, 4 (1), pp. 126-134.
Stramer, B., Moreira, S., Millard, T., Evans, I., Huang, C. Y., Sabet, O., Milner, M., Dunn, G., Martin, P. and Wood, W., 2010. Clasp-mediated microtubule bundling regulates persistent motility and contact repulsion in Drosophila macrophages in vivo. The Journal of Cell Biology (JCB), 189 (4), pp. 681-689.
Evans, I. R., Hu, N., Skaer, H. and Wood, W., 2010. Interdependence of macrophage migration and ventral nerve cord development in Drosophila embryos. Development, 137 (10), pp. 1625-1633.
Moreira, S., Stramer, B., Evans, I., Wood, W. and Martin, P., 2010. Prioritization of competing damage and developmental signals by migrating macrophages in the drosophila embryo. Current Biology, 20 (5), pp. 464-470.
Evans, I. R., Zanet, J., Wood, W. and Stramer, B. M., 2010. Live imaging Of Drosophila melanogaster embryonic hemocyte migrations. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 36, e1696.
Vlisidou, I., Dowling, A. J., Evans, I. R., Waterfield, N., ffrench-Constant, R. H. and Wood, W., 2009. Drosophila embryos as model systems for monitoring bacterial infection in real time. PLoS Pathogens, 5 (7), e1000518.
Defaye, A., Evans, I., Crozatier, M., Wood, W., Lemaitre, B. and Leulier, F., 2009. Genetic ablation of Drosophila Phagocytes reveals their contribution to both development and resistance to bacterial infection. Journal of Innate Immunity, 1 (4), pp. 322-334.
Stramer, B. and Wood, W., 2009. Inflammation and wound healing in Drosophila. Methods in Molecular Biology, 571, pp. 137-149.
