Areas of Interest
Research in Dr. White’s laboratory is directed towards
understanding aspects of prolac-tin and growth hormone gene
expression in the rat pituitary and rat pituitary tumor cell
lines. Recent work has focused on the relationship between
Ca2+-dependent cell-cell adhesion and prolactin
gene expression. Also, the molecular mechanisms involved in
post- transcriptional regulation of prolactin gene
expression are being studied. In other work, Dr. Bruce White
and Dr. John Peluso (OB/GYN) are collaborating in a study of
ovarian physiology. Specifically, the molecular mechanisms
by which hormonal signals induce ovarian cells to
proliferate and differentiate are being studied. Recent work
has demonstrated that the orphan nuclear hormone receptor
transcription factor, steroidogenic factor 1 (SF1), is
expressed in the rat ovary, and is required for normal
estrogen biosynthesis by follicle cells.
New Research Opportunities
Dr. White (in collaboration with Dr. Henry Furneaux) was
recently (i.e., September 2005) funded by NIH to study the
regulation of microRNA expression by estrogen in human breast
cancer and liver cell lines, and the possible roles of
hormonally-regulated microRNAs in the control of cellular
cholesterol homeostasis. This represents a “ground floor”
project that is ideal for a student rotation or thesis project.
Selected Publications
Smith, P.J., Cowan, A.E., and White, B.A. 2004. The LDL
receptor is regulated by estrogen and forms a functional complex
with the estrogen regulated protein ezrin in pituitary GH3
somatolactotropes. Endocrinology 145: 3075-83.
Smith, P.M., Cowan, A., Milgram, S., and White, B.A. 2003.
Tissue-specific regulation by estrogen of ezrin and 50 kDal
ezrin-binding protein (EBP50). Endocrine 22: 119-126.
White, B.A. 2003. PCR: design and optimisation of reactions.
In: Encyclopedia of the Human Genome Project (Cooper, D.,
Editor-in-Chief), Nature Publishing Group, London.
Peluso, J., Bremner, T., Fernandez, G., Pappalardo, A., and
White, B.A. 2003. Expression pattern and role of a 60-kilodalton
progesterone binding protein in regulating granulosa cell
apoptosis: involvement of the mitogen-activated protein kinase
cascade. Biol. Reprod. 68, 122-128.
Smith, P., Heinrich, C.A., Pappas, S., Peluso, J.J., Cowan,
A.E., and White, B.A. 2002. Reciprocal regulation by estradiol
17-b of ezrin and cadherin-catenin complexes in a pituitary cell
line. Endocrine 17, 219-228.
Peluso, J., Fernandez, G., Pappalardo, A., and White, B.A.
2001. Characterization of a putative membrane receptor for
progesterone that is involved in preventing granulosa cell
apoptosis. Biol. Reprod. 65, 94-101. |
