Faculty

Wei Tong, PhD

faculty photo
Professor of Pediatrics (Hematology)
Department: Pediatrics
Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information
The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
3615 Civic Center Blvd.
310D Abramson Research Center
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Office: 267-426-0930
Fax: 267-426-5476
Lab: 267-426-0870
Education:
BS (Molecular and cellular biology)
University of Science and Technology of China, 1994.
PhD (Developmental and molecular biology)
Albert Einstein College of Medicine, 2000.
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Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests
Our laboratory is interested in studying molecular mechanisms involved in cytokine receptor signaling in hematopoiesis, hematopoietic stem cell development, and leukemogenesis.

Key words: Hematopoiesis, leukemia, stem cells, cytokine receptor, signaling, ubituitin, robosome biogenesis, DNA replication, DNA repair, genome integrity

Description of Research
Our lab focuses on molecular hematology-oncology with an emphasis on studying signal transduction in normal blood cell development and hematological malignancies. We use genetically-engineered mouse models, bone marrow transplantation, tissue culture cells, gene transcriptional profiling, protein complex purification and mass spectrometric identification, coupled with extensive usage of molecular, cellular, and biochemical technologies.

Hundreds of billions of blood cells have to be replenished everyday. Cytokines and cytokine receptors play important roles in blood cell formation, a process known as hematopoiesis. The amplitude and duration of cytokine receptor signaling is a highly regulated process that is crucial for cytokine- governed hematopoiesis. Dysregulation of these complex signaling networks can predispose to myeloproliferative diseases and myeloid leukemia.

Tong’s laboratory studies kinase and ubiquitin signaling in hematopoietic stem cells, bone marrow failure, and leukemia. Hematopoietic stem cells give rise to all circulating blood cells throughout life. Maintenance of stem cell self-renewal, proliferation and differentiation is regulated by complex signaling pathways. Aberrant regulation leads to bone marrow failure or leukemia. Furthermore, genome integrity plays a critical role in the prevention of leukemia, ageing, and blood development. This postdoctoral fellow position will focus on studying the mechanisms that safeguard the genome during DNA replication and investigating how failures in these processes impact hematopoietic stem cell function that leads to bone marrow failure and/or leukemia.

1. Investigate growth factor signaling in maintaining genome integrity and restoring hematopoietic stem cell activities in blood disorders.

2. Investigate novel regulators in ribosome biogenesis that affect hematopoietic stem cell functions.

3. CRISPR screen to identify genes that affect acute leukemia cell growth and drug sensitivity in vivo.

4. Explore novel means to expand hematopoietic stem cells for gene therapy.


Rotation Projects
Potential projects can be discussed with Dr. Tong.

Lab personnel:

Deepanjan Paul, postdoctoral fellow
Bowen Xing, postdoctoral fellow
Dishari Ghatak, postdoctoral fellow
Meiwen Ding, postdoctoral fellow
Akram Houssain, postdoctoral fellow
Ruoxing Wang, postdoctoral fellow
Mengfang Wu, postdoctoral fellow
Nikita Vantsev, graduate student
Carlo Salas Salina, technician
Anna Liang, technician

Selected Publications

Ren JG, Xing B, Lv K, O'Keefe RA, Wu M, Wang R, Bauer KM, Ghazaryan A, Burslem GM, Zhang J, O'Connell RM, Pillai V, Hexner EO, Philips MR, Tong W.: RAB27B controls palmitoylation-dependent NRAS trafficking and signaling in myeloid leukemia. J Clin Invest 133: e165510, Jun 2023.

Lv K, Ren JG, Han X, Gui J, Gong C, Tong W.: Depalmitoylation Rewires FLT3-ITD Signaling and Exacerbates Leukemia Progression. Blood 138: 2244-2255, Jun 2021.

Holdreith N, Lee G, Chandra V, Salinas CS, Nicholas P, Olson TS, Tong W.: LNK (SH2B3) inhibition expands healthy and Fanconi anemia human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. Blood Adv 6: 731-745, Feb 2022.

Lv K, Gong C, Antony C, Han X, Ren JG, Donaghy R, Cheng Y, Pellegrino S, Warren AJ, Paralkar VR, Tong W.: HectD1 controls hematopoietic stem cell regeneration by coordinating ribosome assembly and protein synthesis. Cell Stem Cell 28: 1275-1290, Jul 2021.

Donaghy Ryan, Han Xu, Rozenova Krasimira, Lv Kaosheng, Jiang Qinqin, Doepner Miriam, Greenberg Roger A, Tong Wei: The BRISC deubiquitinating enzyme complex limits hematopoietic stem cell expansion by regulating JAK2 K63-ubiquitination. Blood 133(14): 1560-1571, Apr 2019.

Balcerek Joanna, Jiang Jing, Li Yang, Jiang Qinqin, Holdreith Nicholas, Singh Brijendra, Chandra Vemika, Lv Kaosheng, Ren Jian-Gang, Rozenova Krasimira, Li Weihua, Greenberg Roger A, Tong Wei: Lnk/Sh2b3 deficiency restores hematopoietic stem cell function and genome integrity in Fancd2 deficient Fanconi anemia. Nature communications 9(1): 3915, Sep 2018.

Giani Felix C, Fiorini Claudia, Wakabayashi Aoi, Ludwig Leif S, Salem Rany M, Jobaliya Chintan D, Regan Stephanie N, Ulirsch Jacob C, Liang Ge, Steinberg-Shemer Orna, Guo Michael H, Esko Tõnu, Tong Wei, Brugnara Carlo, Hirschhorn Joel N, Weiss Mitchell J, Zon Leonard I, Chou Stella T, French Deborah L, Musunuru Kiran, Sankaran Vijay G: Targeted Application of Human Genetic Variation Can Improve Red Blood Cell Production from Stem Cells. Cell stem cell 18(1): 73-8, Jan 2016.

Lv Kaosheng, Jiang Jing, Donaghy Ryan, Riling Christopher R, Cheng Ying, Chandra Vemika, Rozenova Krasimira, An Wei, Mohapatra Bhopal C, Goetz Benjamin T, Pillai Vinodh, Han Xu, Todd Emily A, Jeschke Grace R, Langdon Wallace Y, Kumar Suresh, Hexner Elizabeth O, Band Hamid, Tong Wei: CBL family E3 ubiquitin ligases control JAK2 ubiquitination and stability in hematopoietic stem cells and myeloid malignancies. Genes & development 31(10): 1007-1023, May 2017.

Cheng Ying, Chikwava Kudakwashe, Wu Chao, Zhang Haibing, Bhagat Anchit, Pei Dehua, Choi John K, Tong Wei: LNK/SH2B3 regulates IL-7 receptor signaling in normal and malignant B-progenitors. The Journal of clinical investigation 126(4): 1267-81, Apr 2016.

Rozenova Krasimira, Jiang Jing, Donaghy Ryan, Aressy Bernadette, Greenberg Roger A, Tong Wei: MERIT40 deficiency expands hematopoietic stem cell pools by regulating thrombopoietin receptor signaling. Blood 125(11): 1730-8, Mar 2015.

Jiang Jing, Balcerek Joanna, Rozenova Krasimira, Cheng Ying, Bersenev Alexey, Wu Chao, Song Yiwen, Tong Wei: 14-3-3 regulates the LNK/JAK2 pathway in mouse hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells. The Journal of clinical investigation 122(6): 2079-91, Jun 2012.

Bersenev Alexey, Wu Chao, Balcerek Joanna, Jing Jiang, Kundu Mondira, Blobel Gerd A, Chikwava Kudakwashe R, Tong Wei: Lnk constrains myeloproliferative diseases in mice. The Journal of clinical investigation 120(6): 2058-69, Jun 2010.

Bersenev Alexey, Wu Chao, Balcerek Joanna, Tong Wei: Lnk controls mouse hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and quiescence through direct interactions with JAK2. The Journal of clinical investigation 118(8): 2832-44, Aug 2008.

Scott Linda M, Tong Wei, Levine Ross L, Scott Mike A, Beer Philip A, Stratton Michael R, Futreal P Andrew, Erber Wendy N, McMullin Mary Frances, Harrison Claire N, Warren Alan J, Gilliland D Gary, Lodish Harvey F, Green Anthony R: JAK2 exon 12 mutations in polycythemia vera and idiopathic erythrocytosis. The New England journal of medicine 356(5): 459-68, Feb 2007.

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Last updated: 09/06/2023
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