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Fei Wang
Assistant Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology
Ph.D., University of California at Berkeley (Biochemistry and Molecular Biology)
Research Areas
The molecular programs that control fate decisions of human embryonic stem cells
Although the field is only in its infancy, human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can grow indefinitely as undifferentiated cells (Fig. 2) and can differentiate into nearly all types of cells in the body. These pluripotent cells have been hailed as a possible means for treating treat degenerative, malignant, or genetic diseases, injury due to inflammation, infection and trauma. Meanwhile, hESCs are an invaluable research tool that can serve as a platform to develop and test new drugs. However, to fully realize the therapeutic potential of hESCs, a better understanding of the conditions and molecular mechanisms for long-term self-renewal and efficient directed differentiation must be achieved.
Our long-term goal is to dissect the poorly understood molecular programs governing the fate decisions of hESCs. By screening a collection of pharmacological inhibitors, we identified potential key regulatory molecules that control hESC long-term self-renewal. We plan to expand our study to identify both positive and negative regulators of hESC pluripotency and thus to unravel the underlying signaling network. In addition, we will seek to induce directed differentiation of hESCs into the endoderm, mesoderm, or ectoderm lineage. The results of these experiments will provide insights into early human development and may contribute to effective strategies for tissue repair and regeneration.
Representative Publications
Zhao M, Song B, Pu J, Wada T, Reid B, Tai G, Wang F, Guo A, Walczysko P, Gu Y, Sasaki T, Suzuki A, Forrester JV, Bourne HR, Devreotes PN, McCaig CD, and Penninger JM. 2006. Electric signals control wound healing via phosphatidylinositol-3 kinase-gamma and PTEN. Nature 442:457-60.
Xu J, Wang F*, Van Keymeulen A, Rentel M, and Bourne HR. 2005. Neutrophil microtubules suppress polarity and enhance directional migration. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102:6884-9.Xu J, Wang F*, Van Keymeulen A, Herzmark P, Straight A, Kelly K, Takuwa Y, Mitchison T, and Bourne HR. 2003. Divergent signals and cytoskeletal assemblies regulates self-organizing polarity in neutrophils. Cell 114:201-14.
Srinivasan S, Wang F*, Glavas S, Ott A, Hofmann F, Aktories K, Kalman D, Hahn K, and Bourne HR. 2003. Rac and Cdc42 play distinct roles in regulating PI(3,4,5)P3 and polarity during neutrophil chemotaxis. J Cell Biol, 160:375-85.
Wang F, Herzmark P, Weiner OW, Srinivasan S, Servant G, and Bourne HR. 2002. The lipid products of PI3K maintain persistent cell polarity and directed motility in neutrophils. Nat Cell Biol 4:513-518.
* Co-first author
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