Research
Interests
The main research interest of Yoon's laboratory is to explore
the signaling pathways and transcription factor networks to understand
how cell specification/differentiation and morphogenesis processes
are regulated during normal embryonic development, and how aberrant
regulation of these processes leads to the disease conditions
in postnatal stage.
In one project, we are studying the biological
roles and signaling mechanisms of the R-spondin family
of proteins recently discovered in our laboratory. We found that
R-spondins are a novel class of specific ligands for the Wnt
signaling receptors, Frizzled8 and LRP6, and activate the beta-catenin-dependent
Wnt signaling pathway. We are currently investigating the function
of the R-spondin genes
during mouse embryogenesis and postnatal development, utilizing
genetically modified mice and cell culture model.
In another project, we are interested in studying the biological
function and gene regulation of bHLH class transcription factor, pMesogenin1,
in paraxial mesoderm development. A loss of the pMesogenin1 gene
leads to a complete loss of paraxial mesoderm-derived skeletal
muscle and trunk skeleton in mice. Our recent effort is focused
on identifying the upstream regulatory signaling pathways and downstream
target genes to elucidate the genetic regulatory network associated
with pMesogenin1 function. |
Selected
Publications
Ishii, Y., Wajid M., Bazzi H., Fantauzzo K.A., Barber A.G., Blaydon
D.C., Nam J.S., Yoon J.K., Kelsell D.P. and Christiano
A.M. (2007). Mutations in R-Spondin4 (RSPO4) underlie inherited
Anonychia. J. Invest. Dermatol., 128: 867-870
Kim,
D.J., Park C.S., Yoon, J.K*. and Song W.
K.* (2007). Differential
Expression of the Wnt and Frizzled genes in Flk+ cells derived
from mouse ES cells. Cell Biochemistry and Function,
26:24-32.*co-corresponding authors.
Nam, J.S., Park, E., Turcotte, T.J., Palencia, S., Zhan, X., Lee,
J., Yun, K., Funk, W.D.* and Yoon, J.K*. (2007).
Mouse R-spondin2 is required for apical ectodermal ridge maintenance
in the hindlimb. Dev. Biol. 311:124-135. *co-corresponding
authors.
Nam,
J.S., Turcotte, T.J. and Yoon, J.K. (2007). Dynamic
expression of R-spondin family of genes in mouse development. Gene
Expression Patterns 7:306-312.
Durmus,
T., LeClair, R.J., Park, K.S., Terzic, A. Yoon,
J.K. and Lindner, L. (2006). Expression
Analysis of the Novel Gene Collagen Triple Helix Repeat Containing-1
(Cthrc1). Gene Expression Patterns 6:935-940.
Nam,
J.S., Turcotte, T.J., Smith, P., Choi, S. and Yoon,
J.K. (2006). Mouse
Cristin/R-spondin family proteins are novel ligands for the Frizzled8
and LRP6 receptors and activate beta-catenin-depedent gene expression. J.
Biol. Chem. 281:13247-13257.
Yoon, J.K. and B. Wold. (2000). The
bHLH regulator pMesogenin1 is required for segmentation and maturation
of paraxial mesoderm. Genes & Dev. 14: 3204-3214
Yoon, J.K., R. T. Moon and B. Wold. (2000). The
bHLH class protein pMesogenin1 can specify paraxial mesoderm phenotypes. Dev.
Biol. 222: 376-391
|
