Stephen Kron, M.D., Ph.D.

Molecular, Chemical and Systems Biology of Cell Signaling, Cell Cycle and Checkpoint Response

Research Summary

The Kron laboratory is a highly collaborative group of cell biologists, geneticists, biochemists, chemists and computer scientists. Our major basic research and technology efforts are directed at 1) defining roles for chromatin modifications and cell cycle regulators in DNA damage checkpoint response and 2) developing novel mass spectrometry approaches for quantitative phosphoproteomics. We also pursue translational projects directed at 1) developing assays for leukemia diagnostics and therapeutic monitoring and 2) discovering inhibitors of cellular response to DNA double strand breaks as an approach to radiosensitization.

Selected Papers

Wysocki, R. and Kron, S. J. (2004). "Yeast cell death during DNA damage arrest is independent of caspase or reactive oxygen species." J Cell Biol 166: 311-6.

Downs, J. A., Allard, S., Jobin-Robitaille, O., Javaheri, A., Auger, A., Bouchard, N., Kron, S. J., Jackson, S. P. and Cote, J. (2004). "Binding of chromatin-modifying activities to phosphorylated histone H2A at DNA damage sites." Mol Cell 16: 979-90.

Wu, D., Nair-Gill, E., Sher, D.A., Parker, L.L., Campbell, J.M., Siddiqui, M., Stock, W. and Kron S.J. (2005). "Assaying Bcr-Abl kinase activity and inhibition in whole cell extracts by phosphorylation of substrates immobilized on agarose beads." Anal Biochem. 347:67-76.

Parker, L.L., Schilling, A.B., Kron, S.J. and Kent, S.B. (2005). "Optimizing thiophosphorylation in the presence of competing phosphorylation with MALDI-TOF-MS detection." J Proteome Res. 4:1863-66.

Wysocki, R., Javaheri, A., Allard, S., Sha, F., Cote, J. and Kron, S.J. (2005). "Role of Dot1-dependent histone H3 methylation in G1 and S phase DNA damage checkpoint functions of Rad9." Mol Cell Biol 25:8430-43.

Parker, L. L., Kurutz, J. W., Kent, S. B. and Kron, S. J. (2006). "Control of the yeast cell cycle with a photocleavable alpha-factor analogue." Angew Chem Int Ed Engl 45:6322-5.

Javaheri, A., Wysocki, R., Jobin-Robitaille, O., Altaf, M., Cote, J. and Kron, S. J. (2006). "Yeast G1 DNA damage checkpoint regulation by H2A phosphorylation is independent of chromatin remodeling." Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 103:13771-6.

Wysocki, R., Javaheri, A., Kristjansdottir, K., Sha, F. and Kron, S. J. (2006). "CDK Pho85 targets CDK inhibitor Sic1 to relieve yeast G1 checkpoint arrest after DNA damage." Nat Struct Mol Biol 13:908-914.

McSherry, T.D., Kitazono, A.A., Javaheri, A., Kron, S.J. and Mueller, P.R. (2007). "Non-catalytic function for ATR in the checkpoint response." Cell Cycle 6:2019-30.

Parker, L., Engel-Hall, A., Drew, K., Steinhardt, G., Helseth, Jr. D.L., Jabon, D., McMurry, T., Angulo, D.S. and Kron, S.J. (2008). "Investigating quantitation of phosphorylation using MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry." J Mass Spectrom 43:518-527.

Bickenbach, K.A., Veerapong, J., Shao, M.Y., Mauceri, H.J., Posner, M.C., Kron, S.J. and Weichselbaum, R.R. (2008). "Resveratrol is an effective inducer of CArG-driven TNF-alpha gene therapy." Cancer Gene Ther 15:133-9.

Wu, D., Mand, M.R., Veach, D.R., Parker, L.L., Clarkson, B. and Kron, S.J. (2008). "A solid-phase Bcr-Abl kinase assay in 96-well hydrogel plates." Anal Biochem 375:18-26.

Ulanovskaya OA, Janjic J, Suzuki M, Sabharwal SS, Schumacker PT, Kron SJ, Kozmin SA. (2008). "Chemical synthesis enables identification of cytochrome bc1 complex as the cellular target of Leucascandrolide A and Neopeltolide," Nature Chem. Biol., 4:418-24.

Kristjansdottir K, Wolfgeher D, Lucius N, Angulo DS, Kron SJ. (2008). "Phosphoprotein profiling by PA-GeLC-MS/MS," J. Proteome Research, 7:2812-2824.