Yong-Jian Geng, M.D., Ph.D.
1982, Suzhou Medical College; 1994, Gothenburg University, Sweden
UT-Houston Medical School
Internal Medicine-Cardiology
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Yong-Jian Geng, M.D., Ph.D. 1982, Suzhou Medical College; 1994, Gothenburg University, Sweden UT-Houston Medical School |
Research Interests: Cardiovascular gene expression; apoptosis; lipoprotein metabolism; transgenic mice; gene and cell therapy; tissue engineering
The research in our laboratory is aimed at delineating the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and heart failure, and at developing new therapeutic approaches to treat cardiovascular diseases with means of molecular and cellular biology. A strong interest is to determine molecular regulation of proliferation, differentiation and death of cardiovascular cells under both physiological and physiological conditions. Current studies in our group focus on searching new genes that regulate apoptosis and caspase activities, analyzing new lipid-binding proteins in atherosclerosis, and developing transgenic and knockout murine models for atherosclerosis and heart failure. We also employ molecular biology and tissue engineering techniques to transplant fetal cardiac myoblasts and deliver new genes to the heart with ischemic injury.
Our laboratory is equipped well for the studies in cellular and molecular biology, biochemistry, immunology and histopathology. Depending upon the student's interests, a tutorial in our laboratory would provide experience with transgenic animal studies, cardiovascular cell isolation and culture, DNA and RNA analysis, cDNA cloning, protein characterization, and immunohistochemistry.
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Geng YJ, Ishikawa Y, Vatner DE, Wagner TE, Bishop SP, Vatner SF, Homey CJ (1999) Apoptosis of cardiac myocytes in G-s-alpha transgenic mice. Circ Res 84:34-42.
Liao HS, Matsumoto A, Itakura H, Doi T, Honda M, Kodama T, Geng YJ (1999) Transcriptional inhibition by interleukin-6 of the class A macrophage scavenger receptor in macrophages derived from human peripheral monocytes and the THP-1 monocytic cell line. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 19:1872-1880.
Liao Ha, Matsumoto A, Itakura H, Pittman T, Kodama T, Geng YJ (1999) De novo expression of the class-A macrophage scavenger receptor conferring resistance to apoptosis in differentiated human THP-1 monocytic cells. Cell Death Differ 6:245-255.
Liao HS, Kodama T, Geng YJ (2000) Expression of class A scavenger receptor inhibits apoptosis of macrophages triggered by oxidized low density lipoprotein and oxysterol. Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol 20:19968-1975.
Vatner DE, Yang GP, Geng YJ, Asai K, Yun JS, Wagner TE, Ishikawa Y, Bishop SP, Homey CJ, Vatner SF (2000) Determinants of the cardiomyopathic phenotype in chimeric mice overexpressing cardiac G-s-alpha. Circ Res 86:802-806.
Program Affiliation:
Program in Molecular Pathology
Vascular Biology