Faculty

Mitchell A. Lazar, MD, PhD

Willard and Rhoda Ware Professor in Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases

Department: Medicine

Graduate Group Affiliations

Contact information

12-102 Smilow Center for Translational Research
3400 Civic Center Boulevard / 5160
Philadelphia, PA 19104-5160

Office: (215) 898-0198
Fax: (215) 898-5408

Email:
lazar@pennmedicine.upenn.edu

Publications

Search PubMed for articles

Education:
S.B. (Chemistry)
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1976.
Ph.D. (Neuroscience)
Stanford Univerity, 1981.
M.D.
Stanford Univerity, 1982.

Links
Search PubMed for articles
Institute for Diabetes, Obesity and Metabolism
Lazar Lab
Cell and Molecular Biology Graduate Group
Pharmacological Sciences Graduate Group

Permanent link

> Perelman School of Medicine > Faculty > Details

Description of Research Expertise

Research Interests
Epigenomic regulation of transcription and metabolism by nuclear receptors; mechanism of obesity-associated insulin resistance and diabetes; circadian regulation of metabolism

Key words: diabetes, endocrinology, epigenomics, nuclear receptors, circadian rhythms

Description of Research
The Lazar laboratory is studying the transcriptional regulation of metabolism. We are particularly focused on the role played by nuclear receptors (NRs). In the absence of ligand, NRs bind to DNA and function as potent transcriptional repressors by recruiting corepressor complexes that include the chromatin modulating enzyme histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3). We are studying the tissue-specific and physiological roles of the corepressor complexes using by combining genomic, genetic, proteomic, bioinformatic, and metabolic phenotyping approaches. We are especially interested in the circadian NR Rev-erb alpha, which utilizes the corepressor complex to potently repress transcription. Rev-erb alpha is a key repressive component of the circadian clock that coordinates metabolism and biological rhythms. We are also studying PPAR gamma, a nuclear receptor that is a master regulator of adipocyte (fat cell) differentiation. Ligands for PPAR gamma have potent antidiabetic activity, and thus PPAR gamma represents a key transcriptional link between obesity and diabetes. The molecular, cellular, and integrative biology of these factors are being studied in mice and humans. We also have discovered resistin, a novel hormone and target of PPAR gamma that is made by fat cells in rodents and by macrophages in humans, and are testing the hypothesis that resistin links metabolism to inflammation in human metabolic diseases.

Rotation Projects for 2021-2022
There are numerous potential projects that I would be pleased to discuss in person.

Lab personnel:
Amy Hauck, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Yang Xiao, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Kun Zhu, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Lauren Woodie, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Michael Tackenberg, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Shin-Ichi Inoue, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Tiffany Fleet, M.D., Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Yoon Jeong Park, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Rashid Mehmood, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Mohit Midha, Ph.D., (Post-doc)
Delaine Zayas-Bazan Burgos (Graduate Student)
Isaac Celwyn (Research Specialist)
Maria Krieg (Research Specialist)
Lily Melink (Research Specialist)
Yifan Liu (Research Specialist)
Michelle Burrows (Lab Manager)

Selected Publications

Lee J, Dimitry JM, Song JH, Son M, Sheehan PW, King MW, Travis Tabor G, Goo YA, Lazar MA, Petrucelli L, Musiek ES.: Microglial REV-ERBα regulates inflammation and lipid droplet formation to drive tauopathy in male mice. Nat Commun 14(1): 5197, Aug 2023 Notes: doi: 10.1038/s41467-023-40927-1.

Yamamoto T, Maurya SK, Pruzinsky E, Batmanov K, Xiao Y, Sulon SM, Sakamoto T, Wang Y, Lai L, McDaid KS, Shewale SV, Leone TC, Koves TR, Muoio DM, Dierickx P, Lazar MA, Lewandowski ED, Kelly DP.: RIP140 deficiency enhances cardiac fuel metabolism and protects mice from heart failure. J Clin Invest 133(9): e162309, May 2023.

Adlanmerini M, Lazar MA.: The REV-ERB Nuclear Receptors: Timekeepers for the Core Clock Period and Metabolism. Endocrinology 164(6): bqad069, Apr 2023.

Guan D, Bae H, Zhou D, Chen Y, Jiang C, La CM, Xiao Y, Zhu K, Hu W, Trinh TM, Liu P, Xiong Y, Cai B, Jang C, Lazar MA.: Hepatocyte SREBP signaling mediates clock communication within the liver. J Clin Invest 133(8): e163018, Apr 2023.

Xiao Y, Batmanov K, Hu W, Zhu K, Tom AY, Guan D, Jiang C, Cheng L, McCright SJ, Yang EC, Lanza MR, Liu Y, Hill DA, Lazar MA.: Hepatocytes demarcated by EphB2 contribute to the progression of nonalcoholic steatohepatitis. Sci Transl Med. 15(682): eadc9653, Feb 2023 Notes: doi: 10.1126/scitranslmed.adc9653.

Lazar MA: Genes and my development. Genes Dev 37(1-2): 35-36, Jan 2023.

Lazar MA.: Tugs-of-war in science. J Clin Invest. 132(20): e165312, Oct 2022 Notes: doi: 10.1172/JCI165312.

Lazar MA, Magnuson MA, Kaestner KH: Franz Matschinsky, MD (1931–2022): Paragon of Scientific Rigor and Curiosity Who Discovered Glucokinase as the Pancreatic Glucose Sensor. Diabetes 71: 2078–2083, Oct 2022 Notes: https://doi.org/10.2337/dbi22-0017.

Hu W, Lazar MA.: Modelling metabolic diseases and drug response using stem cells and organoids. Nat Rev Endocrinol. Page: 1-16, Sep 2022 Notes: doi: 10.1038/s41574-022-00733-z.

Xiao T, Langston PK, Muñoz-Rojas AR, Jayewickreme T, Lazar MA, Benoist C, Mathis D.: Tregs in visceral adipose tissue up-regulate circadian-clock expression to promote fitness and enforce a diurnal rhythm of lipolysis. Sci Immunol. 7(75): eabl7641, Sep 2022 Notes: doi: 10.1126/sciimmunol.abl7641.