Yarui Diao, Ph.D. (The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Hong Kong, China)
Assistant Professor of Cell Biology
E-mail: yarui.diao@duke.edu
373 Nanaline Duke Building, Box 3709
Duke University School of Medicine
Durham, NC 27710
Telephone: 684-8553
Fax 919-684-8090
Gene regulation in tissue regeneration and tumorigenesis
The proper gene expression program is regulated at the transcription level through the interplay among epigenetic, trans- (e.g. transcription factor, chromatin modifier) and cis-regulatory (e.g. promoter, enhancer) elements, and disruption of transcriptional regulatory network causes human diseases, such as degenerative disorder and cancer. We are a functional genomics lab focusing on the fundamental gene regulation mechanism that control tissue repair and cancer development. Our lab use muscle stem cell, rhabdomyosarcoma (a life-threatening pediatric sarcoma), and glioblastoma as model system, and work at the intersection of functional genomics, cell biology and bioengineering, to employ integrative approaches including (but not limited to) epigenome and 3D-genome analysis, high-throughput genome and epigenome editing, single-cell genomics, animal model, human stem cell and organoid system, for understanding and treating complex disorders related to tissue regeneration, aging, and cancer.
Selected publications: (* co-first author and # co-corresponding author)
Chen, X., Wan, J., Yu, B., Diao, Y.#, and Zhang, W.# (2018) PIP5K1α promotes myogenic differentiation via AKT activation and calcium release. Stem Cell Res Ther. 9 (1), 33
An, Y.*, Wang, G.*, Diao, Y.*, Long, Y., Fu, X., Weng, M., Zhou, L., Sun, K., Cheung, T. H., Ip, N., Sun, H., Wang, H., and Wu, Z., (2017). A Molecular Switch Regulating the Cell Fate Choice Between Muscle Progenitor Cells and Brown Adipocytes. Dev Cell. 41, 382-391.
Diao, Y., Fang, R., Li, B., Meng, Z., Yu, J., Qiu, Y., Lin, K.C., Huang, H., Liu, T., Marina, R.J., Jung, I., Shen, Y., Guan, K.L., and Ren, B. (2017). A tiling-deletion-based genetic screen for cis-regulatory element identification in mammalian cells. Nat Methods. (This paper is highlighted by: Catarino, R., Neumayr, C., Stark, A., Promoting transcription over long distances. Nature Genetics, 49. 972-973 (2017)
Diao, Y., Li, B., Meng, Z., Jung, I., Lee, A.Y., Dixon, J., Maliskova, L., Guan, K.L., Shen, Y., and Ren, B. (2016). A new class of temporarily phenotypic enhancers identified by CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genetic screening. Genome Res. 26, 397-405.
Diao, Y., Guo, X., Jiang, L., Wang, G., Zhang, C., Wan, J., Jin, Y., and Wu, Z. (2014). miR-203, a tumor suppressor frequently down-regulated by promoter hypermethylation in rhabdomyosarcoma. J Biol Chem 289, 529-539.
Diao, Y., Guo, X., Li, Y., Sun, K., Lu, L., Jiang, L., Fu, X., Zhu, H., Sun, H., Wang, H., and Wu, Z. (2012). Pax3/7BP is a Pax7- and Pax3-binding protein that regulates the proliferation of muscle precursor cells by an epigenetic mechanism. Cell Stem Cell 11, 231-241.
Diao, Y., Liu, W., Wong, C.C., Wang, X., Lee, K., Cheung, P.Y., Pan, L., Xu, T., Han, J., Yates, J.R., 3rd, Zhang, M., and Wu, Z. (2010). Oxidation-induced intramolecular disulfide bond inactivates mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase 6 by inhibiting ATP binding. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 107, 20974-20979.
Diao, Y., Wang, X., and Wu, Z. (2009). SOCS1, SOCS3, and PIAS1 promote myogenic differentiation by inhibiting the leukemia inhibitory factor-induced JAK1/STAT1/STAT3 pathway. Mol Cell Biol 29, 5084-5093.
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