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Research Interests:
Dr. Monga's research is focused on understanding the molecular basis of liver growth and development in health and disease. His laboratory* is active in discovering and characterizing novel molecular pathways and interactions among various pathways, in hepatic physiology and pathology. Specifically, they are addressing the roles of the Wnt/beta-catenin, HGF/Met, EGF, PDGF and other pathways, utilizing various in house in-vitro and in-vivo models. They have generated several transgenic and gene knockout mice to understand the roles of aberrant signal transduction in liver development and cancer. The work is also being extended to pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
While several aspects of the study are aimed at improving the current understanding of basic liver biology, several ongoing studies are highly translational and preclinical. Examination of patient tissues (HCC and Pancreatic CA) for molecular aberrations to identify novel therapeutic targets is a significant component of their research. Also, in collaborations with pharmaceutical companies, they are examining the potential of therapeutic agents to inhibit "oncoproteins" such as beta-catenin. Other ongoing studies include elucidating the roles of Wnt/beta-catenin pathway and HGF/Met interactions- 1) in liver regeneration after partial hepatectomy, 2) in acetaminophen-induced liver injury and, 3) in metabolic and synthetic functions of hepatocytes.
In addition, Dr. Monga's laboratory is also interested in regenerative medicine aspect of liver. To this end, they have shown higher efficacy of mouse fetal hepatocytes in bioreactor applications, in collaboration with MIRM. This work is being extended to stem cells and fetal hepatocytes or hepatocytes over expressing -catenin, for improved bioreactor development. Along, similar lines, they are examining the effect of -catenin overexpression on cell therapies for liver.
Selected Publications:
View Dr. Monga's publications on PubMed
Sodhi D, Micsenyi A, Bowen WC, Monga DK, Talavera JC, Monga SP. Morpholino oligonucleotide-triggered beta-catenin knockdown compromises normal liver regeneration. J Hepatol. 2005 Jul;43(1):132-41.
Sekhon SS, Tan X, Micsenyi A, Bowen WC, Monga SP. Fibroblast growth factor enriches the embryonic liver cultures for hepatic progenitors.
Am J Pathol. 2004 Jun;164(6):2229-40.
Kohler C, Bell AW, Bowen WC, Monga SP, Fleig W, Michalopoulos GK. Expression of Notch-1 and its ligand Jagged-1 in rat liver during liver regeneration. Hepatology. 2004 Apr;39(4):1056-65.
Micsenyi A, Tan X, Sneddon T, Luo JH, Michalopoulos GK, Monga SP. Beta-catenin is temporally regulated during normal liver development.
Gastroenterology. 2004 Apr;126(4):1134-46.
Hussain SZ, Sneddon T, Tan X, Micsenyi A, Michalopoulos GK, Monga SP. Wnt impacts growth and differentiation in ex vivo liver development.
Exp Cell Res. 2004 Jan 1;292(1):157-69.
Dr. Monga's Laboratory - 2005
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