Shannon Townsend
Amherst College
Maureen Gannon lab
It has been shown that connective tissue growth factor has promoted the insulin-producing beta cell's proliferation. As of right now, there is no receptor known for which CTGF binds to but a thought is that it might bind to integrins. Therefore, my project is to define whether integrins may be its receptor or possibly something else. Finally, I hope to elucidate the upstream and downstream mechanisms by which CTGF causes this proliferation.