Assistant Professor
Pharmacological Sciences
Genetics & MCB Programs

Ph.D., Graduate University for Advanced Studies, Japan
Postdoctoral, University of Washington
Dept. of Pharmacology BST 7-182
Stony Brook, NY 11794-8651
Phone: (631) 444-7976
Fax: (631) 444-3218
E-mail: takemaru@pharm.stonybrook.edu

Wnt Signaling in Development and Disease

Intracellular signaling by the Wnt family of secreted cysteine-rich glycoproteins plays critical roles in normal embryonic development and adult homeostasis. This pathway is highly conserved among the animal kingdom. Importantly, dysregulation of Wnt signaling has been linked to a range of human diseases. For instance, the best understood Wnt/β-catenin pathway is aberrantly activated in greater than 70 % of colorectal cancers and to a lesser extent in other tumor types, promoting cancer cell proliferation, survival and migration. More recently, this signaling cascade has emerged as a crucial regulator of stem cells. Our laboratory investigates the function of Wnt/β-catenin signaling in development and disease. More specific projects are outlined below.

Research Overview

We previously reported a β-catenin-associated antagonist Chibby (Cby). Cby is a 14.5-kDa nuclear protein, and evolutionarily conserved from fly to human. Cby physically interacts with the C-terminal activation domain of β-catenin and represses β-catenin-mediated transcriptional activation. Mechanistically, Cby competes with Tcf/Lef transcription factors to bind to β-catenin. Depletion of Drosophila Cby by RNAi results in segment polarity defects that mimick the gain-of-function phenotype of a Drosophila Wnt homolog wingless (wg), highlighting the biological importance of Cby’s function. Recently, we found that Cby promotes adipocyte and cardiomyocyte differentiation of pluripotent stem cells through inhibition of β-catenin signaling. Our current projects include: 1) Isolation and characterization of Cby-interacting proteins; 2) Characterization of Cby-knockout mice; 3) Involvement of Cby in human cancer.

Research Opportunities in the Takemaru Lab

There are research positions available in the lab. We are always looking for motivated and talented undergraduate and graduate students, as well as postdoctoral fellows. We utilize a range of state-of-the-art approaches to study various aspects of Wnt signaling. For more information, please inquire here.