Herbert T. Cohen, MD

Associate Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine

Biography

Dr. Cohen’s laboratory is addressing the molecular basis of renal cancer, renal cystic disease and renal development and offers special expertise in gene expression mechanisms, signal transduction, protein-protein interactions, transcription factors, and renal epithelial cell biology. The laboratory has identified the first member of new protein family, the Jade family of proteins, on the basis of its interaction with the von Hippel-Lindau tumor suppressor pVHL. pVHL protein is a key component of the cellular oxygen-sensing system. VHL is also the major renal cancer gene in adults. Jade-1 is a novel, growth suppressive plant homeodomain transcription factor that is the first protein found to be stabilized by pVHL. Jade-1 is also a ubiquitin ligase and key component of histone acetylation complexes. Interestingly, Jade-1 is stabilized by VHL protein in a manner that correlates with risk of renal manifestations in von Hippel-Lindau disease, which includes a cystic renal disease phenotype. A wider role for Jade-1 in renal cyst formation was therefore sought. Jade-1 is regulated by the product of the major gene for autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), polycystin-1, in a manner that is also disease relevant and physiologic. Importantly, Jade-1 serves as a critical ubiquitin ligase for the oncoprotein beta-catenin, which also plays critical roles in renal cancer, renal cyst formation and renal development. In part by controlling transcription and beta-catenin ubiquitination, Jade-1 and related family members are likely to be particularly important in many contexts. .

Techniques:
Cancer biology and epithelial cell biology approaches, advanced molecular biology approaches, protein-protein interactions, yeast 2-hybrid screening, protein ubiquitination assays, protein-DNA interactions, transcription assays, gene expression mechanisms including microarrays, confocal microscopy, transgenic and knockout mice.

Publications

  • Published 11/1/2021

    Farrell K, Kim S, Han N, Iida MA, Gonzalez EM, Otero-Garcia M, Walker JM, Richardson TE, Renton AE, Andrews SJ, Fulton-Howard B, Humphrey J, Vialle RA, Bowles KR, de Paiva Lopes K, Whitney K, Dangoor DK, Walsh H, Marcora E, Hefti MM, Casella A, Sissoko CT, Kapoor M, Novikova G, Udine E, Wong G, Tang W, Bhangale T, Hunkapiller J, Ayalon G, Graham RR, Cherry JD, Cortes EP, Borukov VY, McKee AC, Stein TD, Vonsattel JP, Teich AF, Gearing M, Glass J, Troncoso JC, Frosch MP, Hyman BT, Dickson DW, Murray ME, Attems J, Flanagan ME, Mao Q, Mesulam MM, Weintraub S, Woltjer RL, Pham T, Kofler J, Schneider JA, Yu L, Purohit DP, Haroutunian V, Hof PR, Gandy S, Sano M, Beach TG, Poon W, Kawas CH, Corrada MM, Rissman RA, Metcalf J, Shuldberg S, Salehi B, Nelson PT, Trojanowski JQ, Lee EB, Wolk DA, McMillan CT, Keene CD, Latimer CS, Montine TJ, Kovacs GG, Lutz MI, Fischer P, Perrin RJ, Cairns NJ, Franklin EE, Cohen HT, Raj T, Cobos I, Frost B, Goate A, White Iii CL, Crary JF. Genome-wide association study and functional validation implicates JADE1 in tauopathy. Acta Neuropathol. 2022 01; 143(1):33-53. PMID: 34719765.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 9/21/2016

    Havasi A, Lu W, Cohen HT, Beck L, Wang Z, Igwebuike C, Borkan SC. Blocking peptides and molecular mimicry as treatment for kidney disease. Am J Physiol Renal Physiol. 2017 Jun 01; 312(6):F1016-F1025. PMID: 27654896.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 1/6/2016

    Ozturk S, Papageorgis P, Wong CK, Lambert AW, Abdolmaleky HM, Thiagalingam A, Cohen HT, Thiagalingam S. SDPR functions as a metastasis suppressor in breast cancer by promoting apoptosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2016 Jan 19; 113(3):638-43. PMID: 26739564.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 12/26/2014

    Fu Y, Rope R, Fargue S, Cohen HT, Holmes RP, Cohen DM. A mutation creating an out-of-frame alternative translation initiation site in the GRHPR 5'UTR causing primary hyperoxaluria type II. Clin Genet. 2015 Nov; 88(5):494-8. PMID: 25410531.

    Read at: PubMed

  • Published 5/14/2014

    Komers R, Xu B, Fu Y, McClelland A, Kantharidis P, Mittal A, Cohen HT, Cohen DM. Transcriptome-based analysis of kidney gene expression changes associated with diabetes in OVE26 mice, in the presence and absence of losartan treatment. PLoS One. 2014; 9(5):e96987. PMID: 24827579.

    Read at: PubMed

View All 40 Publications:   View Full Profile in BUMC

Other Positions

  • Associate Professor, Pathology & Laboratory Medicine
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Associate Professor, Pharmacology, Physiology & Biophysics
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
  • Member, BU-BMC Cancer Center
    Boston University
  • Member, Genome Science Institute
    Boston University
  • Graduate Faculty (Primary Mentor of Grad Students)
    Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, Graduate Medical Sciences

Websites

Education

  • Thomas Jefferson University, MD
  • Pennsylvania State University, BS

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