Yu-Ying He, Ph.D.

Research Summary

Our laboratory is interested in understanding how ultraviolet radiation in sunlight causes skin cancer in order to prevent skin cancer by targeting its molecular defects. The tumor suppressor PTEN plays critical roles in skin homeostasis. We seek to determine the molecular mechanisms and consequences of PTEN suppression on UV-induced skin carcinogenesis and to exploit whether increasing PTEN expression prevents skin cancer.

Selected Papers

He YY, Huang JL, Ramirez DC, and Chignell CF. Role of Reduced Glutathione Efflux in Apoptosis of Immortalized Human Keratinocytes Induced by UVA. J. Biol. Chem. 278 (2003): 8058-8064.

He YY, Huang JL, and Chignell CF. Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Down-Regulation Induced by UVA in Human Keratinocytes does not require the Receptor Kinase Activity but depends on caspase activation. J. Biol. Chem., 278 (2003) 42457-42465.

He YY, Huang JL, and Chignell CF. Delayed and sustained activation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase in human keratinocytes by UVA: implications in carcinogenesis. J. Biol. Chem. 279(2004) 53867-53874.

He YY, Pi JP, Huang JL, Diwan BA, Waalkes MP and Chignell CF. Chronic UVA irradiation of human keratinocytes induces malignant transformation associated with acquired apoptotic resistance. Oncogene, 25 (2006) 3680-3688.

He YY, Huang JL, and Chignell CF. Cleavage of epidermal growth factor receptor by caspase during apoptosis is independent of its internalization. Oncogene 25 (2006), 1521-1531.

He YY, Council SE, Feng L, and Chignell CF. UVA-Induced Cell Cycle Progression Is Mediated by a Disintegrin and Metalloprotease/Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor/AKT/Cyclin D1 Pathways in Keratinocytes. Cancer Res., 68 (2008) 3752-3758.

Ming M and He YY. PTEN: New Insights into its Regulation and Function in Skin Cancer (Review). J. Invest. Dermatol.In Press, 2009.