|
||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Hospital of
the University of Pennsylvania Email :vmylee@mail.med.upenn.edu |
Dr. Virginia
M.-Y. Lee’s research interest focuses on tau, a-synuclein
and amyloid beta precursor protein (APP), and their roles in the pathobiology
of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease (AD), Parkinson’s
disease (PD), and frontotemporal dementias (FTD). In particular, we wish
to determine the pathogenesis of senile plaques, Lewy bodies and neurofibrillary
tangles because these are major lesions found in the brains of AD patients
and other neurodegenerative diseases. Information obtained from research
program may shed light on how neurons degenerate in AD and PD and lead
to a better understanding of the etiology of these diseases. A multi-disciplinary
approach (including biochemical and molecular studies of neuronal culture
systems, animal models and human tissues obtained at autopsy) is used
in the laboratory to address these research issues in common with these
neurodegenerative diseases. Our other research efforts focus on an increased
understanding of the normal functions of tau, synucleins, and APP.
Selected Publications: Giasson, B.I., Forman, M.S., Higuchi, M., Golbe, L.I., Graves, C.L., Kotzbauer, P.T., Trojanowski, J.Q., Lee, V.M.-Y. (2003) Initiation and synergistic fibrillization of tau and a-synuclein. Science 300:636-640. Giasson, B. I., Duda, J. E.,
Quinn, S. M., Zhang, B., Trojanowski, J. Q., and Lee, V. M.-Y. (2002)
Neuronal a-synucleinopathy with severe movement
disorder in mice expressing A53T human a-synuclein.
Neuron 34: 521-533. Giasson, B. I., Duda, J. E.,
Murray, I.V.J., Chen, Q., Souza, J. M., Hurtig, H. I., Ischiropoulos,
H., Trojanowski, J. Q., and Lee, V. M.-Y. (2000) Oxidative damage linked
to neurodegeneration by selective a-synuclein
nitration in synucleinopathy lesions. Science 290: 985-989. Ishihara, T, Hong, M, Zhang, B, Nakagawa, Y, Lee, M.K., Trojanowski, JQ and Lee, V.M.-Y. (1999) Age-dependent emergence and progression of a tauopathy in transgenic mice overexpressing the shortest human tau isoform. Neuron 24:751-762. Skovronsky, D.M., Zhang, B., Kung, M.-P., Kung, H. F., Trojanowski, J. Q., and Lee, V. M.-Y. (2000) In vivo detection of amyloid plaques in a mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. PNAS 97: 7609-7614. Hong, M., Zhukareva, V., Vogelsberg-Ragaglia,
V., Wszolek, Z., Reed, L., Geschwind, D., Bird, T., McKeel, D., Morris,
J., Wilhelmsen, K., Schellenberg, G.D., Trojanowski, J.Q., Lee, V. M-Y.
(1998) Mutation-specific functional impairments in distinct tau isoforms
of hereditary FTDP-17. Science 282:1914-1917. |
