FACULTY
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Leonard Cheung, PhD Lab Website: https://you.stonybrook.edu/cheunglab/ |
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Research |
The pituitary gland is a neuroendocrine gland that controls multiple physiological processes including growth, pregnancy and lactation, reproduction, stress, and metabolism. Pituitary cells adapt and change in different stages of life and my lab is interested in the genetic and molecular mechanisms that control pituitary cell proliferation, specification, and function and allow such responsiveness and adaptability. I started my lab in September 2023 and am interested in all aspects of pituitary genetics and physiology! My research utilizes in vivo mouse models, in vitro human embryonic stem cell models, and single-cell genomic technologies. Please reach out to me if my research program interests you, if you’re interested in collaborating, or if you have any questions or ideas. Current projects include: 1) Pituitary stem cell aging. Pituitary stem cells in mice are multipotent and can differentiate into new hormone-producing cells under increased demand but gradually lose that capability as mice age. We are interested in using in vitro human embryonic stem cells to model human pituitary cell specification and functionally test candidate gene expression changes in aged vs young mouse in vivo pituitary stem cells. Pituitary stem cells express receptors for vitamin A and folic acid, two important dietary components – how do they regulate pituitary stem cell function throughout life? Using in vitro cultured hES-derived pituitary cells, we can investigate the molecular mechanisms downstream of these receptors activating. 2) Genetics and mechanisms of pituitary tumorigenesis. There are multiple types of pituitary tumors and are quite common (as many as 1 in 50 people have some form of pituitary tumor!) Although they do not cause medical issues most of the time, when they do it is difficult to predict their progression and recurrence after surgical resection. Tumors can vary in excess hormone production (none to several), size (micro- to macroadenoma), and age of onset (pediatric v aged). We are developing a clinical collaboration with the Stony Brook Pituitary Care Center with Dr Raphael Davis (neurosurgeon) and Dr Igor Kravets (endocrinologist) to build a research collection of pituitary tumor samples to study DNA and RNA changes that may be driving tumorigenesis. Other research interests include: · Genetics of pediatric hormone deficiencies · Mechanisms of thyrotrope cell specification · Developmental genetics of pituitary organogenesis
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Recent Publications |
National Library of Medicine Biography Cheung LYM, Menage L, Rizzoti K, Hamilton G, Dumontet T, Basham K, Daly AZ, Brinkmeier ML, Masser BE, Treier M, Cobb J, Delogu A, Lovell-Badge R, Hammer GD, Camper SA. Novel Candidate Regulators and Developmental Trajectory of Pituitary Thyrotropes. Endocrinology. 2023 Apr 17;164(6). doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqad076. PubMed PMID: 37183548; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10227867. Sena C, Iannello G, Skowronski AA, Dannheim K, Cheung L, Agrawal PB, Hirschhorn JN, Zeitler P, LeDuc CA, Stratigopoulos G, Thaker VV. Endocrine and behavioural features of Lowe syndrome and their potential molecular mechanisms. J Med Genet. 2022 Dec;59(12):1171-1178. doi: 10.1136/jmedgenet-2022-108490. Epub 2022 Jul 8. PubMed PMID: 35803701; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10186212. Cheung LYM, Rizzoti K. Cell population characterization and discovery using single-cell technologies in endocrine systems. J Mol Endocrinol. 2020 Aug;65(2):R35-R51. doi: 10.1530/JME-19-0276. Review. PubMed PMID: 32485670. Cheung LYM, Camper SA. PROP1-Dependent Retinoic Acid Signaling Regulates Developmental Pituitary Morphogenesis and Hormone Expression. Endocrinology. 2020 Feb 1;161(2). doi: 10.1210/endocr/bqaa002. PubMed PMID: 31913463; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC7029777. Cheung LYM, George AS, McGee SR, Daly AZ, Brinkmeier ML, Ellsworth BS, Camper SA. Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Reveals Novel Markers of Male Pituitary Stem Cells and Hormone-Producing Cell Types. Endocrinology. 2018 Dec 1;159(12):3910-3924. doi: 10.1210/en.2018-00750. PubMed PMID: 30335147; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC6240904. Cheung L, Le Tissier P, Goldsmith SG, Treier M, Lovell-Badge R, Rizzoti K. NOTCH activity differentially affects alternative cell fate acquisition and maintenance. Elife. 2018 Mar 26;7. doi: 10.7554/eLife.33318. PubMed PMID: 29578405; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5889214. Cheung LY, Davis SW, Brinkmeier ML, Camper SA, Pérez-Millán MI. Regulation of pituitary stem cells by epithelial to mesenchymal transition events and signaling pathways. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017 Apr 15;445:14-26. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2016.09.016. Epub 2016 Sep 17. Review. PubMed PMID: 27650955; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5590650. Cheung LYM, Okano H, Camper SA. Sox21 deletion in mice causes postnatal growth deficiency without physiological disruption of hypothalamic-pituitary endocrine axes. Mol Cell Endocrinol. 2017 Jan 5;439:213-223. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2016.09.005. Epub 2016 Sep 8. PubMed PMID: 27616671; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5123967. Fang Q, George AS, Brinkmeier ML, Mortensen AH, Gergics P, Cheung LY, Daly AZ, Ajmal A, Pérez Millán MI, Ozel AB, Kitzman JO, Mills RE, Li JZ, Camper SA. Genetics of Combined Pituitary Hormone Deficiency: Roadmap into the Genome Era. Endocr Rev. 2016 Dec;37(6):636-675. doi: 10.1210/er.2016-1101. Epub 2016 Nov 9. Review. PubMed PMID: 27828722; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5155665. Cheung LY, Rizzoti K, Lovell-Badge R, Le Tissier PR. Pituitary phenotypes of mice lacking the notch signalling ligand delta-like 1 homologue. J Neuroendocrinol. 2013 Apr;25(4):391-401. doi: 10.1111/jne.12010. PubMed PMID: 23279263; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3664429.
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