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Faculty
Changchun Xiao
Assistant Professor
Immunology and Microbial Science
TSRI - 2008
Education
B.S., Tsinghua University, 1995, Biology
M.S., Yale University, 1998, Immunobiology
Ph.D., Yale University, 2002, Immunobiology
2004-2008–Postdoctoral fellow, Immune Disease Institute, Harvard Medical School
2002-2003–Postdoctoral associate, Department of Immunobiology, Yale University School of Medicine
Awards & Activities
2007-2008–NIH T32 Training Grant Postdoctoral Fellowship
2004-2007–Cancer Research Institute Posdoctoral Fellowship
1995–Best Graduate Category Award, Tsinghua University
1994–Guanghua Fellowship, Tsinghua University
1993–December 9 Fellowship, Tsinghua University
1992–Guanghua Fellowship, Tsinghua University
Research Focus
The primary focus of our research is to understand the functions of microRNA control and its underlying molecular mechanisms in the mammalian immune system, under health and disease conditions.
MicroRNAs have recently emerged as important factors in the post-transcriptional control of cellular protein concentrations in metazoan organisms. These ~22 nucleotide RNAs pair with mRNAs of protein coding genes to specify their translational repression or degradation. MicroRNAs display distinct temporal and spatial expression patterns and regulate a diverse range of cellular processes, including cell differentiation, proliferation, and apoptosis. Emerging evidence suggests that they can be involved in the control of lymphocyte development and function, as well as lymphomagenesis. However, the specific functions, expression regulation, and molecular mechanisms of action of individual microRNAs remain largely unknown.
We identified a few lymphocyte-specific microRNAs by expression profiling and investigated their functions by generating and analyzing mice with loss- and gain-of-function mutation. We have found that miR-150 controls c-Myb expression and regulates B cell development and response. We also discovered that another microRNA, miR-17~92, contributes to lymphomagenesis by downregulating the protein levels of Pten and Bim. The mice with elevated miR-17~92 expression in their lymphocytes developed lymphoproliferative disease, autoimmunity, and died prematurely.
Based on studies from us and other investigators, some key features of microRNA control have been revealed: (1) a dose-dependent regulation of protein concentrations of target genes over a mostly modest range; (2) subtle changes of concentrations of some key cellular proteins can have profound physiological effects as documented by the many pathologies arising from haploinsufficiency; (3) targeting of several components of a functional network may further enhance the functional impact of microRNA control. A major challenge in the field is to identify the critical targets of individual microRNAs and the molecular pathways they regulate in a given biological context.
We are employing genetic, genomic, proteomic, biochemical, and bioinformatics approaches to understand the functions and molecular mechanisms of microRNA control at molecular, cellular, and system levels, in the context of lymphocyte differentiation, lymphomagenesis and autoimmune diseases. These experimental approaches can also be used to study microRNAs in other systems, when opportunities emerge.
Selected References
Xiao C and Rajewsky K. (2009) MicroRNA Control in the Immune System: Basic Principles. Cell 136: 26-36.
Xiao C, Srinivasan L, Calado DP, Patterson HC, Zhang B, Wang J, Henderson JM, Kutok JL, Rajewsky K. (2008) Lymphoproliferative disease and autoimmunity in mice with elevated miR-17-92 expression in lymphocytes. Nature Immunology 9:405-14.
Xiao C, Calado DP, Galler G, Thai TH, Patterson HC, Wang J, Rajewsky N, Bender TP, Rajewsky K. (2007) MiR-150 controls B cell differentiation by targeting the transcription factor c-Myb. Cell 131: 146-59
Monticelli S, Ansel KM, Xiao C, Socci ND, Krichevsky AM, Thai TH, Rajewsky N, Marks DS, Sander C, Rajewsky K, Rao A, Kosik KS. (2005) MicroRNA profiling of the murine hematopoietic system. Genome Biology 6(8): R71
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