Associate Professor, Department of Molecular and Human Genetics

Ph.D., Texas A&M University, College Station
Postdoctoral Training, Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School, Boston

RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Transcriptional Regulatory Networks in Metabolic Control by the Hypothalamus

Our long-term research goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms by which coregulators modulate transcription of metabolic genes. In particular, we wish to elucidate the in vivo roles for coregulators in the hypothalamic control of metabolism. The metabolic syndrome (also named syndrome X) is a rapidly growing threat to global health by virtue of its association with obesity, insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, hypertension and dyslipidemia. Although a great deal of progress has been made for the critical roles for transcription factors and their coregulators in peripheral metabolic organs such as the liver and adipose tissues, little is known about the metabolic transcriptional regulatory network in the hypothalamus, despite its central importance in metabolism. This is largely due to the lack of proper genetic tools. As specific mouse cre lines to delete genes in a variety of specific population of metabolic neurons in the hypothalamus have just begun to be available, we decided to tackle this important issue. Our current effort is directed at a family of chromatin remodeling coregulators with histone H3 lysine 4-methylatransferase activity such as MLL1, MLL2 and MLL3/4 as well as histone acetyltransferases CBP/p300 and histone deacetylases HDAC1/2. Our initial effort to delete these genes in the arcuate nuclear region of the hypothalamus uncovers exciting metabolic phenotypes validating our approach.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS:

1. Lee S, Lee B, Joshi K, Pfaff S, Lee JW, Lee SK (2008). A novel regulatory network to segregate spinal neuronal identities. Dev. Cell 14: 877-889.

2. Lee S, Lee J, Lee SK, Lee JW (2008). ASC-2 is an essential adaptor to recruit histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferases MLL3 and MLL4 to the liver X receptors. Mol. Endocrinol. 22: 1312-1319.

3. Kim J, Park O, Lee JW, Lee YC (2007). One- plus two-hybrid system, a novel yeast genetic selection for specific missense mutations disrupting protein/protein interactions. Mol. Cell. Proteomics 6: 1727-1740.

4. Visvanathan J, Lee S, Lee B, Lee JW, Lee SK (2007). The microRNA miR-124 antagonizes the antineural REST/SCP1-pathway during embryonic CNS development. Genes Dev. 21: 744.

5. Lee S, Lee DK, Dou Y, Lee J, Lee B, Kwak E, Kong YY, Lee SK, Roeder RG, Lee JW (2006). Coactivator as a target gene specificity determinant for histone H3 lysine 4 methyltransferases. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 103: 15392-15397.

6. Dou Y, Milne T, Ruthenburg A, Lee S, Lee JW, Verdine G, Allis C, Roeder R (2006). Regulation of MLL1 H3K4 methyltransferase activity by its core components. Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 13: 713-719.

7. Lee S, Lee DK, Choi E, Lee JW (2005). Identification of a functional vitamin D response element in the murine Insig-2 promoter and its potential role in the differentiation of 3T3-L1 preadipocytes. Mol. Endocrinol. 19: 399-408.

8. Kim S, Park K, Kwak E, Choi E, Lee S, Ham J, Kang H, Kim J, Hwang S, Kong Y, Lee K, Lee JW (2003). Activating signal cointegrator-2 required for the liver lipid metabolism mediated by the liver X receptors in mice. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23: 3583-3592.

9. Goo Y, Sohn Y, Kim DH, Kim SW, Kang MJ, Jung DJ, Kwak E, Barlev NA, Berger SL, Chow VT, Roeder R, Azorsa DO, Meltzer PS, Suh PG, Song EJ, Lee KJ, Lee YC, Lee JW (2003). Activating signal cointegrator 2 belongs to a novel steady-sate complex that contains a subset of Trithorax group proteins. Mol. Cell. Biol. 23: 140-149.

10. Kwon T, Chang J, Kwak E, Lee C, Joachimiak A, Kim Y, Lee JW, Cho Y (2003). Mechanism of histone lysine methyl transfer revealed by the structure of SET7/9-AdoMet. EMBO J. 22: 292-303.

For more publications, see listing on Pub Med.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Jae W. Lee, Ph.D.
Department of Molecular & Human Genetics
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza, BCMN-520.06
Houston, TX 77030
Mail Stop: BCM285

Phone: 713-798-7304
Fax: 713-798-4585
E-mail:

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