Anthony J. Capobianco, Ph.D.
Professor of Surgery; Director, Molecular Oncology Research Program, Division of Surgical Oncology
Description of Research
Dr. Capobianco's laboratory is directed toward the elucidation of the Notch signaling pathway and how deregulation of this pathway leads to neoplasia. Research in his lab is centered on three main projects. The most important project in the lab is the dissection of the biochemical signaling mechanism of Notchic proteins. Dr. Capobianco and his colleagues have discovered that Notch exists in the nucleus in a large multi-component complex, and are working to define the role of this complex in Notch signaling. A second major area of research is related to the function of DSL proteins (Notch ligands) in Notch signaling.
Dr. Capobianco's lab has discovered that Jagged1, in addition to signaling through Notch, can signal via a PDZ-dependent mechanism. His studies provide direct evidence that the Notch/DSL signaling pathway is, in fact, bi-directional. The third area of research is in mouse models of human cancer. Dr. Capobianco's lab has developed several mouse models and tools to investigate the role of Notch and Jagged in human neoplastic disease.
Highlights
Selected Cancer-Related Publications
- Rustighi A, Tiberi L, Soldano A, Napoli M, Nuciforo P, Rosato A, Kaplan F, Capobianco A, Pece S, Di Fiore PP, Del Sal G. The prolyl-isomerase Pin1 is a Notch1 target that enhances Notch1 activation in cancer. Nat Cell Biol 11:133-42, 2009. Read more »
- Joshi I, Minter LM, Telfer J, Demarest RM, Capobianco AJ, Aster JC, Sicinski P, Fauq A, Golde TE, Osborne BA. Notch signaling mediates G1/S cell-cycle progression in T cells via cyclin D3 and its dependent kinases. Blood 113:1689-98, 2009. Read more »
- Pinnix CC, Lee JT, Liu ZJ, McDaid R, Balint K, Beverly LJ, Brafford PA, Xiao M, Himes B, Zabierowski SE, Yashiro-Ohtani Y, Nathanson KL, Bengston A, Pollock PM, Weeraratna AT, Nickoloff BJ, Pear WS, Capobianco AJ, Herlyn M. Active notch1 confers a transformed phenotype to primary human melanocytes. Cancer Res 69:5312-20, 2009. Read more »
Programs
Leader of the Multidisciplinary Research Program: Molecular Oncology and Experimental Therapeutics Program