Researchers
Jingwu Xie, PhD Jonathan and Jennifer Simmons Professor of Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics
Jonathan and Jennifer Simmons Professor of Pediatrics: Department of Pediatrics
Principal Investigator: Herman B Wells Center for Pediatrics
Clinical Section: Pediatric Hematology/Oncology
Associate Professor: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, Texas, 2000-2005
Assistant Professor: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galvetson, Texas, 2006-2009
Associate Specialist and Postdoctoral Fellow: University of California at San Francisco Cancer Center
PhD: Cell Biology, University of Dundee, United Kingdom, 1994
MS Cell Biology, Peking University, Beijing, China, 1988
BS: Biology, Shandong Normal University, Jinan, China, 1984
E-mail: jinxie@iupui.edu
Current Research Interests:
The main focus in Dr. Xie's laboratory is to investigate signal transduction of the hedgehog pathway and its role in the development of cancers, particularly basal cell carcinomas, medulloblastomas and gastrointestinal cancers. This pathway was initially discovered by two Nobel Laureates Dr. E. Wieschaus and Dr. C. Nusslein-Volhard in Drosophila in early 80's. The hedgehog signaling is a master regulator for cell differentiation, tissue polarity and cell proliferation. In the last few years, Dr. Xie and his colleagues have discovered two members of this pathway, patched and smoothened, being responsible for the development of basal cell carcinomas (BCCs) and medulloblastomas. BCCs, the most common cancer in Caucasians with the lifetime risk of one in three, are generally only locally invasive and rarely metastasized. Medulloblastomas, a primitive neuroectodermal tumor of cerebellum, account for 20% incidence of pediatric brain tumors, progress rapidly into malignant tumors. In these cancers, this pathway is activated by either inactivated mutations of patched or activated mutations of smoothened. Recent data indicate that hedgehog signaling is activated in about 30% extracutaneous tumors, including gastrointestinal, prostate and breast cancers. Whereas the biological consequences of dysregulation of this pathway are well established, the molecular mechanism of the signal transduction is still poorly understood.
They are taking three approaches to understand the mechanism by which activation of the hedgehog pathway contributes to cancers. First, the activating form of smoothened or the downstream molecule Gli is used as a "biological probe" for the identification, isolation and functional dissection of molecular components that collaborate to regulate the signaling pathway. Second, they are studying the interaction of this pathway with other signaling pathways in human cancers. Third, mouse models are being used to understand activation of the hedgehog pathway in vivo. Ultimately, they hope to find ways to inhibit this pathway with small molecules in relevant human cancers, including pediatric tumors.
Dr. Xie is currently associate editor for the International Journal of Cancer Research and associate editor of the Asian Journal of Cell Biology, and a member of the American Association for Cancer Research, American Society of Cell Biology, American Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, and American Gastroenterology Association. He received the Overseas-Scholar Award in 2003-2005 by The National Science Foundation of the People's Republic of China.
Ongoing projects include:
- Studying signal transduction of the hedgehog pathway.
- Developing novel strategies to treat cancer with specific small molecules.
- Mouse model of hedgehog-mediated carcinogenesis.
- Cancer stem cells.
