Jia Zhang's Research

THE ROLE OF FOXM1 IN GROWTH FACTOR-STIMULATED BETA CELL PROLIFERATION

My project is to study how growth factors affect beta cell proliferation via FoxM1 function in mice. FoxM1 is known as a crucial regulator of postnatal beta cell replication. However, the signaling events upstream of FoxM1 in beta cells are largely unknown. Some growth factors, such as placental lactogen (PL), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) are known to regulate beta cell proliferation. Thus, I am interested in exploring whether FoxM1 is the effector of the growth factor signaling pathways influencing beta cell replication. To study this, I will explore whether over-expression of certain growth factors can restore decreased beta cell proliferation in a pancreas-wide FoxM1 mutant background, both in vivo and in vitro. Potential changes in FoxM1 expression in response to growth factors will also be monitored using growth factor over-expression both in mouse islet culture and in transgenic mice. Our study may provide important molecular details about growth factor-regulate beta cell proliferation, which will contribute to the therapeutic strategies aimed at expanding human beta cells in vitroand/or in vivo.