Mingyao Liu

Mingyao Liu, Ph.D.

Professor
Center for Cancer and Stem Cell Biology
Member of the GSBS Faculty

2121 W. Holcombe Blvd.
Houston, Texas 77030
Phone: 713-677-7505
Email: mliu@ibt.tamhsc.edu
Lab Webpage: http://www.ibt.tamhsc.edu/labs/ccscb/

Education and Post-Graduate Training

Mingyao Liu received his B.S. and M.S. from Hunan Normal University in Hunan, China, and earned his Ph.D. in cell biology in 1992 from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Prior to his appointment to Assistant Professor in the IBT in 1999, He was a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Maryland, and then held a research fellow position in the Division of Biology, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, California. He was appointed tenured Associate Professor in 2003 and Professor in 2007 in the Center for Stem Cell and Cancer Biology in the Institute of Biosciences and Technology with a joint appointment in the Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, College of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center. He is also member of the Intercollegiate Faculty of Genetics, Texas A&M University, and a member of the Graduate Faculty of Biomedical Sciences (Program in Cell and Regulatory Biology and Cancer Biology) at the University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center. He is also a Consulting Director of the Institute of Biomedical Sciences, East China Normal University in Shanghai, and Adjunct Professor at Hunan Normal University, Shanghai Jiaotong University Ruijing Hospital, and Wenzhou Medical College.

Research Interests

Our laboratory studies how cells receive and process information from their chemical and physical environments under normal and disease conditions. In particular, our research interests focus on understanding the biochemical properties and cellular functions of GTP-binding proteins (small and heterotrimeric), their receptors and signaling pathways in cell growth, proliferation, and differentiation. Our current projects include: 1) G-protein coupled receptors and signaling pathways in cell growth and differentiation; 2) Biochemical properties and cellular functions of GTP-binding proteins, their regulators and effectors in normal and human disease conditions; 3) Molecular mechanisms of human stem cell differentiation. A multi-faceted approach (biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, genetics, and mouse models) is taken in our studies, with the ultimate goal of understanding the regulation of cell growth, differentiation, and proliferation.

Selected Publications

Five Most Significant Publications Prior to 2007

Liu, M., Chen, T.-Y., Ahamed, B., Li, J. and Yau, K.-Y. (1994) Calcium-calmodulin modulation of the olfactory cyclic nucleotide-gated cation channel. Science 266: 1348-1354.

Liu, M. and Simon, M.I.(1996) Regulation by cAMP-dependent protein kinase of a G-protein mediated phospholipase C. Nature 38:, 82-87 (1996).

Xia, C., Ma, W., Stafford, L.J., Marcus, S., Xiong, W-C., and Liu, M. (2001). Regulation of the p21-activated kinase (PAK) by a novel human Gb-like WD-repeat protein, hPIP1. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 98: 6174-6179.

Stafford, L.J., Xia, C., Ma, W., Cai, Y., and Liu, M. (2002) Identification and characterization of mouse metastasis-suppressor KiSS1 and its G-protein coupled receptor. Cancer Res.62: 5399-5404.

Mitchell, D. C., Abdelrahim, M., Weng, J., Stafford, L.J., Safe, S., Bar-Eli, M., and Liu, M. (2006) Regulation of KiSS-1 metastasis suppressor gene expression in breast cancer. J. Biol. Chem. 281(1):51-58. PMID: 16260418

Publications 2007

Hsu, Y-C., Chern, J.J., Cai, Y., Liu, M., and Choi, K.W. (2007) Drosophila Homolog of TCTP Regulates Cell Growth and Proliferation through regulation of dRheb GTPase. Nature 445 (7129), 785-788.

Li, D., Mitchell, D.C., Luo, J., Yi, Z., Cho, S.-G., Li, X., Ning, G., Wu, X., and Liu, M. 2007. Estrogen regulates KiSS1 gene expression through estrogen receptor a and SP protein complexes. Endocrinology 2007 Jul 26; [Epub 2007 Jul 26]

Mitchell, D.C., Bryan, B.A., Liu, J.P., Liu, W.B., Zhou, X., Qu, J., Hurwitz, R., Liu, M., and Li, D.W. 2007. Differential Expression of Rho family of GTPases during mouse eye development. Molecular Vision 13:1144-53.

Kunnumakkara, A.B., Nair, A.S., Ahn, K.S., Pandey, M.K., Yi, Z.F., Liu, M., and Aggarwal, B.B. 2007. Gossypin, a pentahydroxy glucosyl flavone, inhibits the transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase-1 mediated NF-kB activation pathway, leading to potentiation of apoptosis, suppression of invasion, and abrogation of osteoclastogenesis. Blood 109 (12):5112-21. [Epub 2007 Mar 1]

Shi, H.Y., Stafford, L.J., Liu, Z., Liu, M., and Zhang, M. (2007) Maspin controls mammary tumor cell migration through inhibiting Rac1 and Cdc42, but not RhoA GTPase. Cell Motility and Cytoskeleton 64 (5):338-46. [Epub 2007 Feb 14].

Wrighton, K.H., Liang, M., Bryan, B.A., Luo, K., Liu, M., Feng, X.H., and Lin, X. (2007) TGF-beta-independent regulation of myogenesis by SnoN sumoylation. J. Biol. Chem. 282(9):6517-24. [Epub 2007 Jan 3]

Ma, W., Stafford, J.L., Li, D., Luo, J., Li, X., Ning, G., and Liu, M. 2007. GCIP/CCNDBP1, a helix-loop-helix leucine-zip protein, suppresses tumorigenesis. Journal of Cell. Biochem 100 (6):1376-86.

Mitchell, D.C., Stafford, L.J., Li, D., Bar-Eli, M., and Liu, M. 2007. Transcriptional regulation of KiSS-1 gene expression in metastatic melanoma by specificity protein-1 and its coactivator DRIP-130. Oncogene 26 (12):1739-47.

Publications 2008

Weng, J., Cheng, X., Luo, J., Jin, C., Zhou, X., Qu, J., Tong, L., Ai, D., Li, D., Wang, J., Amendt, B., Martin, J.F., and Liu, M. 2008. Deletion of G-protein coupled receptor 48 leads to ocular anterior segment dysgenesis (ASD) through down regulation of Pitx2. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 105, 6081-6086.

Jin, C., Yin, F., Lin, M., Li, X., Wang, Z., Weng, J., Liu, M., Qu, J., and Tu, L. 2008. Gpr48 regulates epithelial cell proliferation and migration by activating EGFR during eyelid development. Investigative Ophthalmology and Vision Science (IOVS) 49(10):4245-53.

Yi, T., Yi, Z., Cho, S.G., Luo, J., Pandey, M.K., Aggarwal, B.B., and Liu, M. 2008. Gambogic acid inhibits angiogenesis by blocking VEGF receptor 2 signaling pathway. Cancer Research 68(6):1843-50.

Sung, B., Pandey, M.K., Ahn, K.S., Yi, T., Chaturvedi, M.M., Liu, M., and Aggarwal BB. 2008. Anacardic acid (6-nonadecyl salicylic acid), an inhibitor of histone acetyltransferase, suppresses expression of NF-{kappa}B-regulated gene products involved in cell survival, proliferation, invasion and inflammation through inhibition of I-[kappa]Balpha, leading to potentiation of apoptosis. Blood 111(10):4880-91.

Yi, T., Cho, S.G., Yi, Z., Pang, X., Rodriguez, M., Wang, Y., Sethi, G., Aggarwal, B.B., and Liu, M. 2008. Thymoquinone inhibits tumor angiogenesis and tumor growth through suppressing AKT and ERK signaling pathways. Molecular Cancer Therapeutics. 7:1789-96.

Sung, B., Jhurani, S., Ahn, K.S., Mastuo, Y., Yi, T., Guha, S., Liu, M. and Aggarwal, B.B. 2008. Zerumbone Downregulates Chemokine Receptor CXCR4 Expression Leading to Inhibition of CXCL12-Induced Invasion of Breast and Pancreatic Tumor cells. Cancer Research 68 (21):8938-44.

Song, H., Luo, J., Weng, J., Luo, W., Wang, Z., Li, B., Li, D., and Liu, M. 2008. Inactivation of G-protein coupled receptor 48 impairs definitive erythropoiesis at midgestation through downregulation of ATF4 pathway. J. Biol. Chem. 283(52):36687-97.

Publications 2009

Pang, X., Yi, T., Yi, Z., Cho, S.G., Qu, W., Pinkaew, D., Fujise, K., and Liu, M. 2009. Morelloflavone, a biflavonoid, inhibits tumor angiogenesis by targeting Rho GTPases and ERK signaling pathways. Cancer Research 69(2):518-25. PMID: 19147565

Li, D., Yu, W., and Liu, M. 2009. Regulation of KiSS1 Gene Expression. Peptides 30(1):130-138. PMID: 18996159

Yi, Z.F., Cho, S.G., Zhao, H., Wu, Y.Y., Luo, J., Li, D., Yi, T., Xu, X., Wu, Z., and Liu, M. 2009. A Novel Peptide from Human Apolipoprotein(a) Inhibits Angiogenesis and Tumor Growth by Targeting c-Src Phosphorylation in VEGF-induced Human Umbilical Endothelial Cells. Intl. Journal of Cancer 124(4):843-52. PMID: 19035465

Pinkaew D, Cho SG, Hui DY, Wiktorowicz JE, Hutadilok-Towatana N, Mahabusarakam W, Tonganunt M, Stafford LJ, Phongdara A, Liu, M., Fujise K. 2009. Morelloflavone blocks injury-induced neointimal formation by inhibiting vascular smooth muscle cell migration. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1790(1):31-9. PMID: 18930785

Cai, Y., Wang, J., Li, R., Ayala, G., Ittmann, M., and Liu, M. 2009. GGAP2/PIKE-A directly activates both the Akt and NF-κB pathways and promotes prostate cancer progression. Cancer Research 69(3): 819-827. PMID: 19176382

Pang, X., Yi, Z., Zhang, X., Sung, B., Qu, W., Lian, X., Aggarwal, B.B., and Liu, M. 2009. Acetyl-11-Keto-β-Boswellic acid inhibits human prostate tumor growth by suppressing vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 2-mediated angiogenesis. Cancer Research 69(14):5893-900. Epub 2009 Jun 30. PMID: 19567671

Cho, S.G., Stafford, L.J., Li, D., Luo, J., Du, B., and Liu, M. 2009. KiSS1 suppresses TNFa-induced breast cancer cell migration via an inhibition of RhoA-mediated NF-kB activation. J. Cell. Biochem. 107(6):1139-49. PMID: 19533666

Luo, J., Zhou, W., Zhou, X., Li, D., Weng, J., Yi, Z., Cho, S.G., Yi, T., Wu, X., de Crombrugghe, B., Hook, M., and Liu, M. 2009. Regulation of bone formation and remodeling by G-protein coupled receptor 48. Development 136(16):2747-56. Epub 2009 Jul 15. PMID: 19605502

Cho, S.G., Yi, Z., Pang, X., Yi, T., Wang, Y., Luo, J., Wu, Z., Li, D., and Liu, M. 2009. Kisspeptin-10, a KISS1-derived decapeptide, inhibits tumor angiogenesis by suppressing Sp1-mediated VEGF expression and FAK/Rho GTPase activation. Cancer Res. 69(17):7062-70. Epub 2009 Aug 11. PMID: 19671799

Cai, Z., Shi, Z., Sanchez, A., Zhang, T., Liu, M., Yang, J., Wang, F., and Zhang, D. 2009. Transcriptional regulation of TLR11 gene expression in epithelial cells. J Biol Chem. 284 (48):33088-96. PMID: 19801549

Li, D., Niu, Z., Yu, W., Qian, Y., Wang, Q., Li, Q., Yi, Z., Luo, J., Wu, X., Wang, Y., Schwartz, R.J., and Liu, M. 2009. SMYD1, the myogenic activator, is a direct target of serum response factor and myogenin. Nucleic Acids Res. 37 (21):7059-71. PMID: 19783823

Publications 2010

Li, X.Y., Lu, Y., Sun, H.Y., Wang, J.Q., Yang, J., Zhang, H.J., Fan, N.G., Xu, J., Jiang, J.J., Liu, R.Y,, Li, D.L., Liu, M., and Ning, G. 2010. G protein-coupled receptor 48 upregulates estrogen receptor alpha expression via cAMP/PKA signaling in the male reproductive tract. Development 137(1):151-7. PMID: 20023170

Pang, X., Yi, Z.F., Zhang, J., Lu, B., Sung, B., Qu, W., Aggarwal, B.B., and Liu, M. 2010. Celastrol Suppresses Angiogenesis-Mediated Tumor Growth through Inhibition of AKT/Mammalian Target of Rapamycin Pathway. Cancer Research (In press)

Wang, L., Kuang, L., Pan, X., Liu, J., Wang, Q., Du, B., Li, D., Luo, J., Liu, M., Hou, A., and Qian, M. 2010. Isoalvaxanthone inhibits colon cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion through inactivating Rac1 and AP-1. Int J Cancer. [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 20017136

Humtsoe, J.O., Liu, M., Malik, A.B., and Wary, K.K. 2010. Lipid Phosphate Phosphatase-3 (LPP3) Stabilization of {beta}-catenin Induces Endothelial Cell Migration and Formation of Branching Point Structures. Mol Cell Biol. 2010 Feb 1. [Epub ahead of print]

Texas A&M Health Science Center - Institute of Biomedical Sciences