Yadong Huang, MD, PhD
Research and Clinical Interests
Research in my laboratory focuses on unraveling the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases and identifying strategies for their treatment or prevention. Potential pathogenic factors are assessed in neural cultures in vitro and in genetically engineered mice in vivo. We are especially interested in apolipoprotein (apo) E4, the major known genetic risk factor for Alzheimer‛s disease (AD).
Studies from my laboratory have demonstrated that apoE is subject to cleavage, generating neurotoxic fragments. ApoE4 is more susceptible to cleavage than apoE3. When expressed in cultured neuronal cells the truncated apoE4 is neurotoxic, leading to cell death. Furthermore, expression of the truncated apoE4 causes AD-like neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits in transgenic mice.
Selected Publications
- Huang Y, Liu XQ, Wyss-Coray T, Brecht WJ, Sanan DA, Mahley RW (2001) Apolipoprotein E fragments present in Alzheimer‛s disease brains induce neurofibrillary tangle-like intracellular inclusions in neurons. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 98:8838-8843.
- Harris FM, Walter JB, Xu Q, Tesseur I, Kekonius L, Wyss-Coray T, Fish JD, Masliah E, Hopkins PC, Scearce-Levie K, Weisgraber KH, Mucke L, Mahley RW, and Huang Y (2003). Carboxyl-terminal-truncated apolipoprotein E4 causes Alzheimer‛s disease-like neurodegeneration and behavioral deficits in transgenic mice. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100:10966-10971.
- Brecht WJ, Harris FM, Chang S, Tesseur I, Yu GQ, Xu Q, Wyss-Coray T, Buttini M, Mucke L, Mahley RW, and Huang Y (2004) Neuron-specific apolipoprotein E4 proteolysis is associated with increased tau phosphorylation in brains of transgenic mice. J. Neurosci. 24:2527-2534.
- Chang S, Ma TR, Miranda RD, Balestra ME, Mahley RW, and Huang Y (2005) Lipid-and receptor-binding regions of apolipoprotein E4 fragments act in concert to cause mitochondrial dysfunction and neurotoxicity. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 102:18694-18699.
- Xu Q, Bernardo A, Walker D, Kanegawa T, Mahley RW, and Huang Y (2006) Profile and regulation of apolipoprotein (apo) E expression in central nervous system in mice with targeting of green fluorescent protein to the apoE locus. J. Neurosci. 26:4985-4994.
Selected Awards
- Boehringer-Ingelheim Postdoctoral Fellowship Award in Biomedical Research.
- W. H. Hauss Award on Arteriosclerosis Research, German Arteriosclerosis Research Society.
- Young Investigator Award, XII International Symposium on Drugs Affecting Lipid Metabolism, International Society for Arteriosclerosis Research, Houston, TX.
- Young Investigator Award, International Society for Arteriosclerosis Research, Stockholm, Sweden
- Assistant Professor in Residency
- Pathology
Specialty Area
Neurobiology and neuropathology
Contact Information
- yhuang@
gladstone.ucsf.edu - Phone: (415) 734-2551
- Fax: (415) 355-0824
- 1650 Owens Street
- San Francisco, CA 94158
Web Site
Other UCSF Organizational Association(s)
Assistant Investigator
- Gladstone Institute of Neurological Disease and Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease.