Vivek T Natarajan
Scientist-G |
Decision Unit 2: Disease Biology
Professor |
Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research
Our investigations are designed to address the biology of skin cells relevant in health and disease. We study cell fate decisions in pigment cells and the molecular mechanisms governing these transitions. Our goal is to develop cell-based solutions for vitiligo.
Key Research Interests
- Epigenetic regulation of pigmentation and melanocytes
- Genome integrity maintenance in skin cells
- Melanocyte cell fate transition during adaptation and disease
His lab has identified several lead candidates that regulate cell-fate decisions in melanocytes using a pigment oscillator model. Using systems ranging from human samples to zebrafish, the lab has established roles of histone variants, pH modulators, kinesins, and autophagy pathways in pigment cell biology.
Selected Publications
All Citations →- Whole-Exome Sequencing of Vitiligo Lesions Indicates Lower Burden of Somatic Variations: Implications in Risk for Nonmelanoma Skin Cancers. Gupta I, Shankrit S, Narta K, Ghazi M, Grover R, Pandey R, Kar HK, Menon SM, Gupta A, Yenamandra VK, Singh A, Mukerji M, Mukhopadhyay A, Rani R, Gokhale RS, Dash D, Natarajan VT. J Invest Dermatol. 2023 Jun;143(6):1111-1114.e8.
- Temporal analysis of melanogenesis identifies fatty acid metabolism as key skin pigment regulator. Sultan F, Basu R, Murthy D, Kochar M, Attri KS, Aggarwal A, Kumari P, Dnyane P, Tanwar J, Motiani RK, Singh A, Gadgil C, Bhavesh NS, Singh PK, Natarajan VT, Gokhale RS. PLoS Biol. 2022 May 18;20(5):e3001634.
- Reverse Genetic Approach to Identify Regulators of Pigmentation using Zebrafish. Sharma B, Subramaniam YJ, Ayyappa Raja D, Aggarwal A, Sivasubbu S, Natarajan VT. J Vis Exp. 2022 Mar 1;(181).
- Histone variant dictates fate biasing of neural crest cells to melanocyte lineage. Raja DA, Subramaniam Y, Aggarwal A, Gotherwal V, Babu A, Tanwar J, Motiani RK, Sivasubbu S, Gokhale RS, Natarajan VT. Development. 2020 Mar 12;147(5):dev182576.
- pH-controlled histone acetylation amplifies melanocyte differentiation downstream of MITF. Raja DA, Gotherwal V, Burse SA, Subramaniam YJ, Sultan F, Vats A, Gautam H, Sharma B, Sharma S, Singh A, Sivasubbu S, Gokhale RS, Natarajan VT. EMBO Rep. 2020 Jan 7;21(1):e48333.