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Faculty Detail    
Name CHENBEI CHANG
  
Campus Address MCLM 733
Phone  (205) 975-7229
E-mail  cchang@uab.edu
Other websites
     


Faculty Appointment(s)
Appointment Type Department Division Rank
Primary  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology  Cell, Developmntl, & Integrative Biology Professor
Center  Biomatrix Eng Regen Med (BERM) Ctr  Biomatrix Eng Regen Med (BERM) Ctr Professor
Center  Civitan International Research Center  Civitan International Research Center Professor
Center  Comp Arthritis, MSK, Bone & Autoimmunity Ctr  Comp Arthritis, MSK, Bone & Autoimmunity Ctr Professor
Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center  Comprehensive Cancer Center Professor
Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center  Comprehensive Neuroscience Center Professor
Center  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders  GL Ctr for Craniofacial, Oral, & Dental Disorders Professor
Center  Integrative Center for Aging Research  Integrative Center for Aging Research Professor

Graduate Biomedical Sciences Affiliations
Cancer Biology 
Cell, Molecular, & Developmental Biology 
Cellular and Molecular Biology Program 
Medical Scientist Training Program 

Biographical Sketch 
Dr. Chenbei Chang received her bachelor degree in Biology major from University of Science and Technology of China. She then conducted her Ph. D. research under the guidance of Dr. Jay Gralla in University of California at Los Angeles, working on mechanisms of eukaryotic transcription regulation. After obtaining her Ph. D. degree in 1994, she went to the Rockefeller University and became a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Dr. Ali H. Brivanlou. She investigated the functions of various signaling pathways during early vertebrate development. In 1998, she was promoted to Research Associate. She came to UAB as an Assistant Professor in 2001 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2007. Her current work focuses on the roles of growth factor signals and transcription factors in early vertebrate embryogenesis, using Xenopus laevis as the model system.

Society Memberships
Organization Name Position Held Org Link
American Association for the Advancement of Science     
American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology     
Chinese Biological Investigators society     
Society for Developmental Biology     
 



Research/Clinical Interest
Title
Growth Factor Signaling and Transcription Regulation in Vertebrate Development
Description
The research in Dr. Chang’s laboratory is focused on control of early vertebrate development by different growth factor signals. The model system used in the lab is the African clawed frog Xenopus laevis. The following research projects are currently ongoing in the lab. 1) Regulation of neural induction and patterning by TGF, FGF and Wnt signals. TGF (transformation growth factor beta) signals can be divided into two branches, those of TGF/Activin/Nodal and BMPs. We recently showed that both branches play important roles in inhibition of neural induction. Suppression of both Nodal and BMP signals is required for early neural development. The downstream nuclear factors that mediate TGF signals in neural formation have not been illustrated in detail, and the interplay between TGF and other signals, include those of FGF and Wnt, is not well understood. These issues will be further investigated in the lab. 2) Regulation of cell movements and morphogenesis by ErbB signaling pathway. During vertebrate development, cells undergo extensive rearrangement and movements to form proper tissue architecture. One major early cell movement event is gastrulation, in which mesoderm and endoderm move inside the embryos. We recently showed that ErbB signaling modulates cell movements during gastrulation. ErbBs seem to regulate cell adhesion to affect cell behaviors. The detailed mechanisms on how ErbB signaling affects cadherin-mediated of cell adhesion and regulates actin cytoskeleton reorganization will be studied in the lab. The cytoplasmic factors involved in mediating the effect of ErbB signaling on cell movements are also being investigated.

Selected Publications 
Publication PUBMEDID
Chang, C. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (1998). Cell fate determination in embryonic ectoderm. J. Neurobiol. 36: 128-151.  9712300 
Suzuki, A., Chang, C., Yingling, J. M., Wang, X.-F. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (1997). Smad5 induces ventral fates in Xenopus Embryo. Dev. Biol. 184: 402-405.  9133445 
Chang, C., Wilson, P. A., Mathews, L. S. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (1997). A Xenopus type I activin receptor mediates mesodermal but not neural specification during embryogenesis. Development 124: 827-837.  9043064 
Chang, C, Eggen, B., Weinstein, D. and Brivanlou, A. H. (2003). Regulation of nodal and BMP signaling by tomoregulin-1 (X7365) through novel mechanisms. Dev. Biol. 255: 1-11.  12618130 
Altman, C.*, Chang, C.*, Munoz-Sanjuan, I., Bell, E., Heke, M., Rifkin, D. B. and Brivanlou, A. H. (2002). The latent-TGFb-Binding-Protein-1 (LTBP-1) is expressed in the organizer and regulates nodal and activin signaling. Dev. Biol. 248: 118-127.  12142025 
Chang, C., Holtzman, D. A., Chau, S., Chickering, T., Woolf, E. A., Holmgren, L. M., Gearing, D. P. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (2001). Twisted gastrulation can function as a BMP antagonist. Nature 410: 483-487.  11260717 
Zhang, Y., Chang, C., Gehling, G. L., Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. and Derynck, R. (2001) Regulation of Smad degradation and activity by Smurf2, a novel E3 ubiquitin ligase. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 98: 974-979.  11158580 
Chang, C. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (2000). A post-mid-blastula transition requirement for TGFb signaling in early endodermal specification. Mech. Dev. 90: 227-235.  10640706 
Chang, C. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (1999). Xenopus GDF6, a new antagonist of noggin and a partner of BMP. Development 126: 3347-3357.  10393114 
Chang, C. and Hemmati-Brivanlou, A. (1998). Neural crest induction by Xwnt7B in Xenopus. Dev. Biol. 194: 129-134.  9473337 
Burn, B., Brown, S. and Chang, C. (2011) Regulation of early Xenopus development by the PIAS genes. Dev. Dyn., in press   
Joo, H. Y., Jones, A., Yang, C., Zhai, L., Smith IV, A. D., Zhang, Z., Chandrasekharan, M., Renfrow, M., Sun, Z., Wang, Y., Chang, C. and Wang, H. (2011) Regulation of Xenopus development by a putative histone H2A and H2B deubiquitinase USP12. J. Biol. Chem. 286, 7190-7201.   
Dai, F., Lin, X., Chang, C. and Feng, X. H. (2009) Nuclear export of Smad2 and Smad3 by RanBP3. Dev. Cell 16, 345-357.   
Yan, C. Y. I., Skourides, P., Chang, C. and Brivanlou, A. (2009) Samba, a Xenopus hnRNP expressed in neural and neural crest tissues. Dev. Dyn. 238, 204-209.   
Chang, C. (2008) Agonists and antagonists of TGF family ligands. In “The TGF- family” (R. Derynck and K. Miyazono, eds.), pp. 203-257. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, Cold Spring Harbor, New York.    
Wan, M., Yang, C., Li, J., Wu, X., Yuan, H., Ma, H., He, X., Nie, S., Chang, C. and Cao, X. (2008) Parathyroid hormone signaling through low-density-lipoprotein-related protein 6. Genes & Dev. 22, 2968-2979.   
Joo, H. Y., Zhai, L., Yang, C., Nie, S., Erdjument-Bromage, H., Tempst, P., Chang, C. and Wang, H. (2007) Regulation of cell cycle progression and gene expression by H2A deubiquitination. Nature 449, 1068-1072.   
Chang, C. and Harland, R. M. (2007) Neural induction requires continued suppression of both Smad1 and Smad2 signals during gastrulation. Development 134, 3861-3872.    
Nie, S. and Chang, C. (2007) PI3K and Erk MAPK mediate ErbB signaling in Xenopus gastrulation. Mech. Dev. 124, 657-667.   
Dai, F., Chang, C., Lin, X., Dai, P., Mei, L. and Feng, X. H. (2007) Erbin inhibits TGF signaling through a novel Smad-interacting domain. Mol. Cell. Biol. 27, 6183-6194.   
Shi, W., Chang, C., Yang, C., Nie, S., Wan, M. and Cao, X. (2007) Endofin acts as a Smad anchor for receptor activation in BMP signaling. J. Cell Sci. 120, 1216-1224.    
Nie, S. and Chang, C. (2007) Regulation of Xenopus gastrulation by ErbB signaling. Dev. Biol. 303, 93-107.   
Chang, C., Brivanlou, A. H. and Harland, R. M. (2006) Function of the two Xenopus Smad4s in early frog development. J. Biol. Chem. 281, 30794-30803.    
Li, X., Nie, S., Chang, C., Qiu, T. and Cao, X. (2006) Smads oppose Hox transcriptional activities. Exp. Cell Res. 312, 854-864.   
Nie, S. and Chang, C. (2006) Regulation of early Xenopus development by ErbB signaling. Dev. Dyn. 235, 301-314.   
Alliston, T., Ko, T. C., Cao, Y., Liang, Y. Y., Feng, X. H. Chang, C., and Derynck, R. (2005) Repression of bone morphogenetic protein and activin-inducible transcription by Evi-1. J. Biol. Chem. 280: 24227-24237.   
Serra, R. and Chang, C. (2003). TGF-b signaling in human skeletal and patterning disorders. Birth Defect Res. (Part C) 69: 333-351.   
Harms, P. and Chang, C. (2003). Tomoregulin-1 (TMEFF1) inhibits nodal signaling through direct binding to the nodal coreceptor Cripto. Genes & Dev.17: 2624-2629.   
Blitz, I. L., Cho, K. W. Y. and Chang, C. (2003). Twisted gastrulation loss-of-function analyses support its role as a BMP inhibitor during early Xenopus embryogenesis. Development 130: 4975-4988.   
Lee, P. S., Chang, C., Liu, D. and Derynck, R. (2003). Sumoylation of Smad4, the common Smad mediator of transforming growth factor-beta family signaling. J. Biol. Chem. 278: 27853-27863.   
 

Keywords
TGF-beta, neural induction, BMP, ErbB, gastrulation, cell movement