Chang Zheng Chen studies the genetic networks controlled by regulatory RNAs, such as microRNAs and small interfering RNAs, and the roles of these RNAs in modulating the development, function and pathogenesis of vertebrate immune systems.

Animal genomes not only contain the genetic information to make messenger RNAs (mRNA), which are then translated into proteins, but they also carry the genetic information to make non-coding RNAs (ncRNAs), which play important roles in regulating gene expression and animal development. Among all the ncRNA species, microRNAs (miRNAs) are small ncRNAs of ~22 nucleotides in length that form sequence-guided interactions with the cognate mRNA target genes and regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level. We have shown that miRNAs may be integral components of the molecular circuitry controlling normal hematopoiesis and leukemogenesis. miRNAs are abundantly present in various immune cell populations. Many are differentially regulated during the development of immune cells. More importantly, some lineage-specific miRNAs can modulate the differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Nevertheless, as a newfound layer of genetic regulation, the mechanisms through which miRNAs and other ncRNAs regulate gene expression, as well as their biological functions in vertebrate development, are yet to be unraveled. The research in my laboratory focuses on the roles of miRNA- and other ncRNA-mediated gene regulatory networks in modulating the development, function, and pathogenesis of vertebrate immune systems. Areas of current interests include

(1) miRNAs’ roles in the maintenance, self-renewal, and differentiation of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells;

(2) miRNAs as diagnostic and therapeutic targets for leukemias and other blood disorders;

(3) miRNA-mediated posttranscriptional gene regulatory networks and their interactions with transcriptional networks during normal and aberrant hematopoietic lineage differentiation.
PUBLICATIONS

Contact Info:

czchen @ stanford.edu

Phone: (650) 736- 4014
Fax: (650) 723-2383

269 Campus Drive
CCSR 3205b
Stanford, California 94305

Personal URL: http://mirna.stanford.edu/content/people.php