Faculty

Montserrat C Anguera, PhD

faculty photo
Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information
Department of Biomedical Sciences
School of Veterinary Medicine
3800 Spruce St., Room 390EB
Philadelphia, PA 19147
Office: 215-898-0567
Fax: 215-573-6810
Lab: 215-898-9541
Education:
Ph.D (Biochemistry, Molecular and Cellular Biology)
Cornell University, 2004.
Permanent link
 
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Description of Research Expertise

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

The research in the Anguera laboratory focuses on maintenance of X-chromosome Inactivation in the immune system and in stem cells. They also study epigenetic mechanisms involving long noncoding RNAs during early human development and placental progenitors.

RESEARCH AREAS:

Mechanisms of X-chromosome Inactivation:
We are investigating the molecular mechanisms of X-Chromosome Inactivation, and how altered dosage of X-linked genes affects early embryonic development and contributes to sex-biased disease. We focus on the autoimmune disorder lupus, which has a strong female-bias, exhibits overexpression of X-linked immune-related genes, and involves lymphocytes. We study the epigenetic status of the inactive X in female lymphocytes from humans and mice, and have made the remarkable discovery that these cells do not maintain X-Chromosome Inactivation in the same way as other female somatic cells. We were the first to discover that the inactive X has euchromatic features in female lymphocytes, which may explain the female bias in autoimmune disorders such as lupus. We also study the dynamic mechanisms of Xist RNA localization and heterochromatin mark recruitment to the inactive X following lymphocyte activation.

Long noncoding RNAs during early human development:
We are also investigating sex-specific differences during human placental development using in vitro model systems. We discovered a novel X-linked long noncoding RNA specifically expressed in human placental progenitor cells that regulates the innate immune response.

KEY WORDS

X-chromosome Inactivation, Xist RNA, epigenetics, heterochromatin, female-biased autoimmunity, B cell development, B cell quiescence and activation, T cell quiescence and activation.


WEBSITE
http://www.vet.upenn.edu/research/research-laboratories/research-laboratory/anguera-laboratory

Selected Publications

Hantsoo Liisa, Kornfield Sara, Anguera Montserrat C, Epperson C Neill: Inflammation: A Proposed Intermediary Between Maternal Stress and Offspring Neuropsychiatric Risk. [PMID 30314641] Biological psychiatry 85(2): 97-106, Jan 2019.

Sierra Isabel, Anguera Montserrat C: Enjoy the silence: X-chromosome inactivation diversity in somatic cells.[PMID 31108425] Current opinion in genetics & development 55: 26-31, May 2019.

Syrett Camille M, Anguera Montserrat C: When the balance is broken: X-linked gene dosage from two X chromosomes and female-biased autoimmunity. [PMID 31125996] Journal of leukocyte biology May 2019.

Kotzin Jonathan J, Iseka Fany, Wright Jasmine, Basavappa Megha G, Clark Megan L, Ali Mohammed-Alkhatim, Abdel-Hakeem Mohamed S, Robertson Tanner F, Mowel Walter K, Joannas Leonel, Neal Vanessa D, Spencer Sean P, Syrett Camille M, Anguera Montserrat C, Williams Adam, Wherry E John, Henao-Mejia Jorge: The long noncoding RNA regulates CD8 T cells in response to viral infection.[PMID 31138702] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 116(24): 11916-11925, Jun 2019.

Syrett Camille M, Paneru Bam, Sandoval-Heglund Donavon, Wang Jianle, Banerjee Sarmistha, Sindhava Vishal, Behrens Edward M, Atchison Michael, Anguera Montserrat C: Altered X-chromosome inactivation in T cells may promote sex-biased autoimmune diseases. [PMID 30944248 JCI insight 4(7), Apr 2019.

Syrett Camille M, Sindhava Vishal, Sierra Isabel, Dubin Aimee H, Atchison Michael, Anguera Montserrat C: Diversity of Epigenetic Features of the Inactive X-Chromosome in NK Cells, Dendritic Cells, and Macrophages. [PMID 30671059] Frontiers in immunology 9: 3087, 2018.

Le Coz Carole, Trofa Melissa, Syrett Camille M, Martin Anna, Jyonouchi Harumi, Jyonouchi Soma, Anguera Montserrat C, Romberg Neil: CD40LG duplication-associated autoimmune disease is silenced by nonrandom X-chromosome inactivation.[PMID 29499223] The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology 141(6): 2308-2311.e7, Jun 2018.

Syrett Camille M, Sierra Isabel, Berry Corbett L, Beiting Daniel, Anguera Montserrat C: Sex-Specific Gene Expression Differences Are Evident in Human Embryonic Stem Cells and During In Vitro Differentiation of Human Placental Progenitor Cells. [PMID 29993333] Stem cells and development 27(19): 1360-1375, Oct 2018.

Wang Jianle, Anguera Montserrat C: In Vitro Differentiation of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells into Trophoblastic Cells. [PMID 28362386] Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE(121), Mar 2017.

Syrett Camille M, Sindhava Vishal, Hodawadekar Suchita, Myles Arpita, Liang Guanxiang, Zhang Yue, Nandi Satabdi, Cancro Michael, Atchison Michael, Anguera Montserrat C: Loss of Xist RNA from the inactive X during B cell development is restored in a dynamic YY1-dependent two-step process in activated B cells. [PMID 28991910] PLoS genetics 13(10): e1007050, Oct 2017.

Penkala Ian, Wang Jianle, Syrett Camille M, Goetzl Laura, López Carolina B, Anguera Montserrat C: lncRHOXF1, a Long Noncoding RNA from the X Chromosome That Suppresses Viral Response Genes during Development of the Early Human Placenta. [PMID 27066803] Molecular and cellular biology 36(12): 1764-75, Jun 2016.

Wang Jianle, Syrett Camille M, Kramer Marianne C, Basu Arindam, Atchison Michael L, Anguera Montserrat C: Unusual maintenance of X chromosome inactivation predisposes female lymphocytes for increased expression from the inactive X. [PMID 27001848] Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 113(14): E2029-38, Apr 2016.

Luo Mengcheng, Zhou Jian, Leu N Adrian, Abreu Carla M, Wang Jianle, Anguera Montserrat C, de Rooij Dirk G, Jasin Maria, Wang P Jeremy: Polycomb protein SCML2 associates with USP7 and counteracts histone H2A ubiquitination in the XY chromatin during male meiosis. [PMID 25634095] PLoS genetics 11(1): e1004954, Jan 2015.

Lessing D, Anguera MC, Lee JT.: X chromosome inactivation and epigenetic responses to cellular reprogramming. [PMID 23662665] Annu Rev Genomics Hum Genet. 14: 85-110, May 2013.

Anguera Montserrat C, Sadreyev Ruslan, Zhang Zhaoqing, Szanto Attila, Payer Bernhard, Sheridan Steven D, Kwok Showming, Haggarty Stephen J, Sur Mriganka, Alvarez Jason, Gimelbrant Alexander, Mitalipova Maisam, Kirby James E, Lee Jeannie T: Molecular signatures of human induced pluripotent stem cells highlight sex differences and cancer genes. [PMID 22770242] Cell stem cell 11(1): 75-90, Jul 2012.

Anguera Montserrat C, Ma Weiyuan, Clift Danielle, Namekawa Satoshi, Kelleher Raymond J, Lee Jeannie T: Tsx produces a long noncoding RNA and has general functions in the germline, stem cells, and brain. [PMID 21912526] PLoS genetics 7(9): e1002248, Sep 2011.

Kim Daniel H, Jeon Yesu, Anguera Montserrat C, Lee Jeannie T: X-chromosome epigenetic reprogramming in pluripotent stem cells via noncoding genes. [PMID 21376830] Seminars in cell & developmental biology 22(4): 336-42, Jun 2011.

Anguera Montserrat C, Liu Matthew, Avruch Joseph, Lee Jeannie T: Characterization of two Mst1-deficient mouse models. [PMID 18942145] Developmental dynamics : an official publication of the American Association of Anatomists 237(11): 3424-34, Nov 2008.

Pyfrom, S., Paneru, B., Knox, J. J., Cancro, M. P., Posso, S., Buckner, J. H., Anguera, M. C.: The dynamic epigenetic regulation of the inactive X chromosome in healthy human B cells is dysregulated in lupus patients. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 118(24), 2021.

Syrett, C. M., Sierra, I., Beethem, Z. T., Dubin, A. H., Anguera, M. C.: Loss of epigenetic modifications on the inactive X chromosome and sex-biased gene expression profiles in B cells from NZB/W F1 mice with lupus-like disease. Journal of Autoimmunity 107: 102357, 2020.

Chang, S., Hur, S. K., Naveh, N. S. S., Thorvaldsen, J. L., French, D. L., Gagne, A. L., Jobaliya, C. D., Anguera, M. C., Bartolomei, M. S., Kalish, J. M.: Derivation and investigation of the first human cell-based model of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Epigenetics Page: 1-11, 2020.

Anguera, M. C., Payer, B., Morey, C.: Editorial: Gene regulation from the X-chromosome during development and disease. Front Cell Dev Biol 8: 272, 2020.

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Last updated: 10/28/2021
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