Molecular signaling mechanisms controlling epidermal and hair follicle development, maintenance, and aging.
Research interests include:
planar cell polarity, primary cilia, hedgehog signaling, proteoglycans, and intracellular trafficking.
Representative Publications
Intu regulates cell fate-specific differentiation of keratinocytes through the primary cilia.
Dai D, Li L, Guevara E, Zeng H, Huebner A, Claypool D, Liu A and Chen J (2013). Cell Death Differ. 20:130-138.
Intraflagellar transport 27 (IFT27) is essential for Hedgehog signaling but dispensable for ciliogenesis during hair follicle morphogenesis.
Yang N, Li L, Eguether T, Sundberg JP, Pazour GJ and Chen J (2015). Development. 142:2194-2202.
Correction of hair shaft defects through allele-specific silencing of mutant Krt75.
Liu Y, Snedecor ER, Zhang X, Xu Y, Huang L, Jones EC, Zhang L, Clark RA, Roop DR, Qin C and Chen J (2016). J Invest Dermatol. 136:45-51.
INTU is essential for oncogenic Hh signaling through regulating primary cilia formation in basal cell carcinoma.
Yang N, Leung EL, Liu C, Li L, Eguether T, Jun Yao XJ, Jones EC, Norris DA, Liu A, Clark RA, Roop DR, Pazour GJ, Shroyer KR, Chen J (2017). Oncogene. 36:4997-5005.
RPGRIP1L is required for stabilizing epidermal keratinocyte adhesion through regulating desmoglein endocytosis.
Choi YJ, Laclef C, Yang N, Andreu-Cervera A, Lewis J, Mao X, Li L, Snedecor ER, Takemaru KI, Qin C, Schneider-Maunoury S, Shroyer KR, Hannun YA, Koch PJ, Clark RA, Payne AS, Kowalczyk AP, Chen J (2019). PLOS Genet. 15:e1007914.
GORAB promotes embryonic lung maturation through antagonizing AKT phosphorylation, versican expression and mesenchymal cell migration.
Liu Y, Chen X, Choi YJ, Yang N, Song Z, Snedecor ER, Liang W, Leung EL, Zhang L, Qin C, Chen J (2021). FASEB J 34:4918-4933.
