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Tien
C. Ko, M.D.
Associate Professor
Departments of Surgery and Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
email: tko@utmb.edu
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TGF-b
and the gastrointestinal tract
Transforming
growth factor-b
(TGF-b)
signals through serine/threonine kinase receptors to regulate
proliferation, apoptosis and differentiation of many tissues.
The focus of my laboratory is to investigate the signaling
mechanisms by which TGF-b
regulates cellular responses in the gastrointestinal (GI)
tract. TGF-b
signaling involves activation of Smad2 and Smad3 proteins which
translocate into the nucleus to regulation transcription. TGF-b
also signals through mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs).
Our ongoing projects includes 1) characterizing the role
of Smads in TGF-b
regulation of cell division and apoptosis, 2) characterizing the
role of MAPKs in the cross-talk between TGF-b
and other cytokines, 3) identifying novel downstream targets of
Smads, 4) identifying mechanisms of inactivation of TGF-b
signaling in GI cancer. |
Ko TC,
Pan F, Sheng H, Brown DB, Thompson EA, Beauchamp RD. Cyclin D3 is
essential for intestinalepithelial cell proliferation. World J Surg
26:812-818, 2002.
Gong J, Ammanamanchi S, Ko TC, Brattain MG. Transforming growth
factor beta 1 increases the stability of p21/WAF1/CIP1 protein and
inhibits CDK2 kinase activity in human colon carcinoma FET cells.
Cancer Res 63:3340-3346, 2003.
Awwad RA, Sergina N, Yang H, Ziober B, Willson JKV, Zborowska E, Humphrey
LE, Fan R, Ko TC, Brattain MG, Howell GM. The role of transforming
growth factor a in determining growth factor independence. Cancer Res
63:4731-4738, 2003.
Conery AR, Cao Y, Thompson EA, Townsend CM Jr, Ko TC, Luo K. Akt
interacts directly with Smad3 to regulate the sensitivity to TGF-beta
induced apoptosis. Nat Cell Biol 6:366-72, 2004.
Ko TC,
Evers BM. Molecular and Cell Biology. In: Townsend CM Jr (ed).
Sabiston’s Textbook of Surgery: The Biological Basis of Modern
Surgical Practice, 17th Edition. WB Saunders, Philadelphia, PA (in
press).
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