Research Interests
I am currently interested in the motoneurons disease spinal bulbar muscular atrophy (SBMA). Recently, our group has unexpectedly discovered a new mouse model for the motoneuron disease SBMA. Our model selectively over-expresses the wild-type androgen receptor (AR) in muscle tissue, which challenges the current dogma that SBMA: 1) originates in motoneurons, and 2) an expansion of CAG (glutamine) exceeding 40 repeats within the AR protein is cytotoxic and required to trigger SBMA. To support these claims we have spent the greater part of the past year characterizing our model of SBMA to show that it holds the hallmark pathological features of this disease. Our endeavors into the mechanism of SBMA have made use of the retrograde tracer, cholera toxin-horse radish peroxidase (CT-HRP). Preliminary results indicate that retrograde transport of the CT-HRP to motoneuron in the spinal cord is reduced. Our future studies in this area will attempt to reveal whether the reduction in retrograde transport results from a reduction in target-derived neurotrophins. Overall, these studies will help reveal the mechanism of action behind the SBMA disease and possibly other poly-glutamine diseases.
Selected Publications
Kemp MQ, Thorne PA, Wenjing L, Selmin O, and Romagnolo DF. Toxicogenomics of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs): Identification of the Transferrin Receptor as a Biomarker for Exposure. Environmental and Molecular Mutagenesis, 47(7) 2006.
Degner SC, Kemp MQ, Bowden GT and Romagnolo DF. Conjugated linoleic acid attenuates cycloxygenase-2 transcriptional activity via an anti-AP-1 mechanism in MCF-7 breast cancer cells. J Nutr. 137:1-7. 2006.
Kemp MQ, Jeffy BD, and Romagnolo DF. Conjugated Linoleic Acid Inhibits Cell Proliferation Through a p53-Dependant Mechanism: Effects on the Expression of G1-Restriction Points in Breast and Colon Cancer Cells. J Nutr. 133(11)3670-7. 2003.
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Michael Kemp