Robert A. Welch Distinguished Chair in Science Annie and Willie Nelson Professorship in Stem Cell Research Pogue Distinguished Chair in Research on Cardiac Birth Defects
Our lab studies muscle cells as a model for understanding how embryonic cells adopt specific fates and how programs of cell differentiation and morphogenesis are controlled during development. There are three major muscle cell types: cardiac, skeletal and smooth, which express distinct sets of genes controlled by different combinations of transcription factors and extracellular signals. We have focused on discovering novel transcription factors that control development of these muscle cell types and remodeling in response to cardiovascular and neuromuscular diseases. The processes involved in muscle development are evolutionarily ancient and conserved across diverse organisms. This conservation has enabled us to take a cross-species approach to dissect this problem by identifying myogenic regulatory genes in the fruit fly or in vertebrate embryos and to use these genes to perform gain and loss-of-function experiments in vivo and in vitro. Our longterm goal is to delineate the complete genetic pathways for the formation and function of each muscle cell type and to use this information to devise pharmacologic and genetic therapies for inherited and acquired muscle diseases in humans.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Muscle Development
Transcriptional Regulation
MicroRNAs
Stem cells
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Arnold, M.A., Kim, Y., Czubryt, M.P., Phan, D., McAnally, J., Qi, X., Shelton, J.M., Richardson, J.A., Bassel-Duby, R., and Olson, E.N., "The MEF2C transcription factor controls chondrocyte hypertrophy and bone development" Dev. Cell, 12:377-389, 2007
Song, K., Backs, J., McAnally, J., Qi, S., Gerard, R.D., Richardson, J.A., Hill, J.A., Bassel-Duby, R., and Olson, E.N., "The transcriptional coactivator CAMTA2 stimulates cardiac growth by opposing class II histone deacetylases" Cell, 125:453-466, 2006
Chang, S., Young, B., Li, S., Qi, S., Richardson, J.A., and Olson, E.N, "Histone deacetylase 7 maintains embryonic vascular integrity by repression of MEF2-dependent MMP10 expression" Cell, 126:321-334, 2006
Garry, D.J., and Olson, E.N, "A common progenitor at the heart of development" Cell, 127:1101-1104, 2006
Creemers, E.E., Sutherland, L.B., Oh, J., Barbosa, A.C., and Olson, E.N., "Coactivation of MEF2 by the SAP domain proteins Myocardin and MASTR" Molecular Cell, 23:83-96, 2006
SIGNIFICANT PUBLICATIONS
Vega, R. B., Matsuda, K., Oh, J., Barbosa, A., Yang, X, Meadows, E., McAnally, J., Pomajzl, C., Shelton, J. M., Richardson, J. A., Karsenty, G., and Olson, E. N., "Histone deacetylase 4 controls chondrocyte hypertrophy during skeletogenesis" Cell, 119:555-566, 2004
Van Rooij, E., Sutherland, L.B., Qi, X., Richardson, J. A., Hill, J., and Olson, E. N., "Control of stress-dependent cardiac growth and gene expression by a microRNA" Science, 316:575-579, 2007
Wang, D-Z., Chang, P., Wang, Z., Small, E., Krieg, P. A., and Olson, E. N., "Activation of cardiac gene expression by myocardin, a transcriptional cofactor for serum response factor" Cell, 105:851-862, 2001
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