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Faculty Detail    
Name JIANBO WANG
  
Campus Address MCLM 727
Phone  (205) 996-9594
E-mail  j18wang@uab.edu
Other websites
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Associate Professor
Secondary  Genetics Chair Office  Genetics Chair Office Assistant Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center Associate Professor
Center  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders Associate Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology 
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program 
Genetics, Genomics and Bioinformatics 
Pathobiology and Molecular Medicine 

Biographical Sketch 
B.S., Wuhan University (1992) Ph.D., Case Western Reserve University (2001) Postdoc, Univ. of California, San Diego (2007)



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
The Planar Cell Polarity Pathway in mammalian embryogenesis
Description
We study morphogenesis, the process through which tissues and organs gain their final shape and dimensions, and how defects in morphogenesis contribute to congenital birth defects in humans. We focus on the planar cell polarity (PCP) pathway, known to coordinate the cellular polarity in the plane of the epithelium and regulate directional cell behavior during the convergent extension morphogenetic processes in Xenopus and zebrafish. In mice and humans, disruption of the PCP pathway may lead to defects in both cell polarity and morphogenesis, including mis-orientation of the auditory sensory hair cells in the cochlea, cardiac abnormalities, limb skeletal defects and failure to close the neural tube. To understand the molecular and cellular basis of PCP-mediated morphogenesis in mammals, we are using mouse genetics to determine how extracellular ligands activate the PCP pathway, how core PCP proteins transmit the signal to the cytoplasm and what downstream effectors are involved in regulating tissue morphogenesis. This genetics approach is complemented by imaging and cell biological studies in Xenopus and tissue culture to investigate how dynamic interaction of core PCP proteins regulates cell adhesion and cytoskeletal assemblies to accomplish directional cell behavior. In addition, we genetically manipulate PCP signaling activity in a tissue and temporal specific fashion to explore the additional functions of the PCP pathway in mammalian development.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Seo HS, Habas R, Chang C, Wang Jianbo (2017) Bimodal regulation of Dishevelled function by Vangl2 during morphogenesis. Human Molecular Genetics  28334810  
Sinha T, Li D, Théveniau-Ruissy M, Hutson MR, Kelly RG, Wang, Jianbo (2015) Loss of Wnt5a disrupts second heart field cell deployment and may contribute to OFT malformations in DiGeorge syndrome. Human Molecular Genetics, 24(6): 1704-16.  25410658  
Li D, Sinha T, Ajima R, Seo HS, Yamaguchi TP, Wang, Jianbo (2016) Spatial regulation of cell cohesion by Wnt5a during second heart field progenitor deployment. Developmental Biology 412(1):18-31.  26916252 
Sinha T, Lin L, Li D, Davis J, Evans S, Wynshaw-Boris A, Wang, Jianbo (2015) Mapping the dynamic expression of Wnt11 and the lineage contribution of Wnt11-expressing cells during early mouse development. Developmental Biology 398(2): 177-92.  25448697 
Shina, T., Wang, B., Evans, S., Wynshaw-Boris, A. and Wang, Jianbo (2012) Disheveled mediated planar cell polarity signaling is required in the second heart field lineage for outflow tract morphogenesis. Developmental Biology, 370(1): 135-44.  22841628 
Wang, B., Sinha, T., Jiao, K., Serra, R and Wang, Jianbo (2010) Disruption of PCP signaling causes limb morphogenesis and skeletal defects and may underlie Robinow syndrome and brachydactyly type B. Human Molecular Genetics 20(2):271-85.  20962035 
Wang, Jianbo, Sinha, T. and Wynshaw-Boris, A. (2012) Wnt Signaling in Mammalian Development: Lessons from Mouse Genetics. Cold Spring Harbor Perspectives in Biology 4(5):1-16.  22550229 
Wang, Jianbo, Hamblet, N.S., Mark, S., Dickinson, M.E., Segil, N., Fraser, S., Chen, P., Wallingford, J.B. and Wynshaw-Boris, A. (2006) Dishevelled genes mediate a conserved mammalian PCP pathway to regulate convergent extension during neurulation. Development, 133: 1767-1778. Featured in “In this issue” section and in “Research Highlight” section of Nature Review Neuroscience 7:420-421.  16571627 
Wang, Jianbo, Mark, S., Zhang, X., Qian, D., Yoo, S.J., Radde-Gallwitz, K., Zhang, Y., Lin, X., Collazo, A., Wynshaw-Boris, A. and Chen P. (2005). Regulation of Polarized Extension and Planar Cell Polarity in the Cochlea by the Vertebrate PCP Pathway. Nature Genetics 37: 980-985.  16116426 
Wang, Jianbo and Wynshaw-Boris, A. (2004) The canonical Wnt pathway in early mammalian embryogenesis and stem cell maintenance/differentiation. Current Opinions in Genetics and Development 14(5): 533-539.  15380245 
Wang, Jianbo, Mager, J., Chen, Y., Schneider, E., Cross, J.C., Nagy, A. and Magnuson, T. (2001) Imprinted X inactivation maintained by a mouse Polycomb group gene. Nature Genetics 28: 371-375.  11479595 
Wang, Jianbo, Schneider, E., Mager, J., Cross, J.C., Nagy, A and Magnuson, T. (2002) Mouse Pc-G Gene eed is required for both Hox Gene regulation and extraembryonic development. Mammalian Genome, 13: 493-503.  12370779 
Wang, Jianbo, Etheridge L. and Wynshaw-Boris, A. (2006) The Wnt signaling pathways in mammalian development and morphogenesis. Advances in Developmental Biology, 17: 111-158.   
 

Keywords
mouse genetics, morphogenesis, cell polarity