Trisomy 21 and its impact on hedgehog-dependent gene regulation and differentiation timing

The fundamental question for the field of Down Syndrome (DS) basic research is how an extra copy of human chromosome 21 (HSA21) translates into the organ-specific defects observed in the DS population. Control of when cells differentiate from progenitor to differentiated cell is important for normal organ formation. We will test the overall hypothesis that altered Hh signaling response and cardiac differentiation timing is a mechanism underlying increased CHD risk in DS.