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Faculty
 Bruce A. White
Professor of Cell Biology
bwhite@neuron.uchc.edu
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.
Dr. White's
Lab Page
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. |
