Our long-term goal is to understand the molecular mechanisms of cell-cell interactions during mammalian development. Our approach is to focus on major signaling pathways, in particular, the Hedgehog (Hh) pathway. The Hh signaling pathway plays a key role in many aspects of embryonic development and dysregulation of Hh signaling is associated with human congenital anomalies and cancers. We investigate the molecular mechanisms of Hh signaling, which serve as a paradigm for understanding morphogen gradient formation, lipid biology and signaling, vesicular trafficking and signaling, and the link between signaling and cellular organelles. Eventually, we would like to understand how Hh signaling is integrated with other signaling pathways in organogenesis and the role of Hh signaling in postnatal physiology and homeostasis.
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Selected Publications
Kawakami T., Kawcak T., Li Y.-J., Zhang W., Hu Y., Chuang P.-T. (2002) Mouse dispatched mutants fail to distribute Hedgehog proteins and are defective in Hedgehog signaling. Development 129(24):5753-65.
Chen M.-H., Li Y.-J., Kawakami T., Xu S.-M., Chuang P.-T. (2004) Palmitoylation is required for the production of a soluble multimeric Hedgehog protein complex and long-range signaling in vertebrates. Genes Dev 18(6):641-59.
Chen M.-H., Gao N., Kawakami T., Chuang P.-T. (2005) Mice deficient in the Fused homolog do not exhibit phenotypes indicative of perturbed Hedgehog signaling during embryonic development. Mol Cell Biol 25(16):7042-53.
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