Postdoc
Jiang Ren
Research:
The bone morphogenic protein (BMP) pathway has been shown to stimulate epithelial integrity and regulate epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). We identified FK506/Tacrolimus as a potent activator of BMP/SMAD pathway, and found that it can inhibit breast cancer invasion and metastasis in zebrafish and mouse xenograft models. In a cohort of breast cancer patients, we found that BMP antagonist Gremlin1 is highly expressed in tumor samples. Its high expression is corrected with poor prognosis of breast cancer. Meanwhile, we also investigated the interaction between breast cancer and associated fibroblasts (CAFs) mediated by Gremlin1. Moreover, we identified a phosphatase which can enhance BMP signaling. We are seeking the underlying mechanisms behind as well as potential biological function in-depth.
Curriculum Vitae:
I finished Master study in State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy at Sichuan university, China (2010-2013). Study there focused on immunotherapy of lung cancer on humanize mouse model. Then, I worked 1 year as Research Assistant in State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy. During this period, I mainly work on preclinical (pharmacokinetics) evaluation of therapeutic compounds. Since 2014, I am a PhD student in group of Prof. Dr. Peter ten Dijke. I Investigate BMP pathway and breast cancer metastasis. In addition, I study the regulatory role of phosphatases in BMP/SMAD signaling pathway.
Publications
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JUNB governs a feed-forward network of TGFβ signaling that aggravates breast cancer invasion.
Sundqvist A, Morikawa M, Ren J, Vasilaki E, Kawasaki N, Kobayashi M, Koinuma D, Aburatani H, Miyazono K, Heldin C-H:
Nucleic acids research 2018, 46(3):1180-1195.
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Invasive Behavior of Human Breast Cancer Cells in Embryonic Zebrafish. Journal of visualized experiments
Ren J, Liu S, Cui C, Ten PD
JoVE 2017(122), e55459.
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Bone Morphogenetic Proteins in the Initiation and Progression of Breast Cancer.
Ren J, ten Dijke P
Bone Morphogenetic Proteins: Systems Biology Regulators. edn.: Springer; 2017: 409-433.
Groups:
