Assistant Professor 
Office: 5038 Graves Hall
kiran.nakka@osumc.edu
(614)293-4398
Education & Training:
National Centre for Cell Science, India, PhD
Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada, Postdoctoral Fellow
Research Interests:
The focus of our laboratory’s research is to unravel the intricacies of inflammation-associated epigenetic programming within satellite cells, the tissue-resident muscle stem cells (MuSCs). Satellite cells possess extensive regenerative capacity. However, chronic inflammation depletes the MuSC pool and diminishes their regenerative potential, impairing the repair and regeneration of damaged muscle fibers and ultimately contributing to muscle loss. In various diseases inflammation is characterized by the infiltration of a repertoire of immune cells into the muscle tissue. In the presence of inflammatory immune cells and their secreted cytokines, MuSCs undergo alterations in their gene expression patterns. Our previous studies demonstrated that epigenetic factors prime MuSCs for inflammation during muscle regeneration and that inflammatory cytokines in the niche epigenetically manipulate MuSC activation and selective regulate proteome usage in the presence and absence of inflammatory cues. By leveraging high-throughput genome-wide association studies and single-cell approaches, we aim to elucidate the transcriptional and post-transcriptional gene regulatory networks that govern MuSC maintenance in the context of inflammation.
Research Focus:
Epigenetics, Gene regulation, Satellite stem cells, Muscle regeneration
Pubmed