Chun-Ying Ku, PhDAssistant Professor Office: E101A ARBL Building, Foothills Campus Member Education Link to a PubMed listing of Dr. Ku's publications: |
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Research Interests -- Signal Transduction and Gene Regulation
I had extensive studies on the cytokine regulation of growth factors biosynthesis in hematopoietic cells, and the molecular signaling to the area of immune response in the skin. I have explored my interest in signal transduction in the reproduction system. In the male, I studied the role of androgens in Sertoli cell function and the effect of FSH and androgens on regulation of specific mRNA, including those coding for cytochrome oxidase subunits, in rat Sertoli and peritubular cells. In the female, I determined that the oxytocin receptor coupled primarily to Gaq and demonstrated that this results in phospholipase C activity in myometrial plasma membrane. My current research focus is investigating the molecular mechanisms that mediate the decline in protein kinase A associated with myometrial plasma membrane prior to delivery in the pregnant rat and expanding this into the primate and human. I am particularly interested in the mechanism of action of the influence of progesterone in this process.
Representative Publications
Shaw JF, Ku CY. 1984. Regulation properties of rice aspartokinase. Bot Bull Academia Sinica 25:45-57.
Sanborn BM, Caston LA, Chang C, Liao S, Speller R, Porter LD, Ku CY. 1991. Regulation of androgen receptor mRNA in rat Sertoli and peritubular cells. Biol Reprod 45:634-641.
Ku CY, Lu Q, Ussuf K, Weinstock G, Sanborn BM. 1991. Hormonal regulation of cytochrome oxidase subunit messenger RNAs in rat Sertoli cells. Molec Endocrinol 5:1669-1676.
Ku CY, Liu M-Y, Wu M-C. 1992. Stimulation of macrophage colony-stimulating factor synthesis by interleukin-1. Arch Biochem Biophys 295:42-48.
Sanborn BM, Ku CY, Lu Q. 1994. Androgen action in Sertoli and peritubular cells. In: Function of Somatic Cells in the Testis, Bartke A (ed). Serono Symposium USA, Norwell, MA.
Ku CY, Loose-Mitchell DS, Sanborn BM. 1994. Both Sertoli and peritubular cells respond to androgens response element reporter. Biol Reprod 51:319-326.
Ku CY, Qian A, Wen Y, Anwer K, Sanborn BM. 1995. Oxytocin stimulates myometrial GTPase and phospholipase C activities via coupling to Gaq/11. Endocrinology 136:1509-1515.
Sanborn BM, Qian A, Ku CY, Wen Y, Anwer K, Monga M, Singh SP. 1995. Mechanisms regulating oxytocin receptor coupling to phosphlipase C in rat and human myometrium. Adv Exp Med Biol 395:469-479.
Monga M, Ku CY, Dodge K, Sanborn BM. 1996. Oxytocin-stimulated responses in a pregnant human immortalized myometrial cell line. Biol Reprod 55:427-432.
Burghardt RC, Barhoumi R, Stickney M, Monga M, Ku CY, Sanborn BM. 1996. Correlation between connexin 43 expression cell-cell communication, and oxytocin-induced Ca2+-response in an immortalized human myometrial cell line. Biol Reprod. 55:433-438.
Yue C, Ku CY, Liu M, Simon MI, Sanborn BM. 2000. Molecular mechanism of the inhibition of phospholipase Cb3 by protein kinase C. J Biol Chem 275:30220-30225.
Sanborn BM, Dodge K, Ku CY, Yue C. 2001. Relaxin and scaffolding proteins in signalling crosstalk. In: Relaxin 2000, Tregear GW, Ivell R, Bathgate RA, Wade JA (eds). Kluwer Academic Publishers, Dordrecht, The Netherlands, pp 279-283.
Ku CY, Sanborn BM. 2002. Progesterone prevents the pregnancy-related decline in protein kinase A association with rat myometrial plasma membrane and A-kinase anchoring protein. Biol Reprod 67:605-609.
Anakk S, Ku CY, Davies PJA, Vore M, Strobel HW. 2003. Insights into gender bias:cytochrome P450 3A9. J Pharmacol Exp Therap 305:703-709.
Babich LG, Ku CY, Young HWJ, Blackburn MR, Sanborn BM. 2004. Expression of capacitative calcium TrpC proteins in rat myometrium during pregnancy. Biol Reprod 70:919-924.
Madsen G, Zakar T, Ku CY, Sanborn BM, Smith R, Mesiano S. 2004. Prostaglandins differentially modulate progesterone receptor-A and -B expression in human myometrial cells: evidence for prostaglandin-induced functional progesterone withdrawal. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 89:1010-1013.
Ku CY, Word RA, Sanborn BM. 2005. Differential expression of protein kinase A, AKAP79 and PP2B in pregnant human myometrial membranes prior to and during labor. J Soc Gynecol Invest 12:421-427.
Sanborn BM, Ku CY, Shlykov S, Babich L. 2005. Molecular signaling through G-protein-coupled receptors and the control of intracellular calcium in myometrium. J Soc Gyn Invest 12:479-487.
Zhong M, Ku CY, Sanborn BM. 2005. Pathways used by relaxin to regulate myometrial phospholipase C. Ann NY Acad Sci 1041:300-304.
Massrieh W, Derjuga A, Doualla-Bell F, Ku CY, Sanborn BM, Blank V. 2006. Regulation of the MAFF transcription factor by proinflammatory cytokines in myometrial cells. Biol Reprod 74(4):699-705.
Ku CY, Babich L, Word RA, Zhong M, Ulloa A, Monga M, Sanborn BM. 2006. Expression of transient receptor channel proteins in human fundal myometrium in pregnancy. J Soc Gynecol Invest 13(3):217-225.
