Mei-Zhen Cui

Department of Biology 

College of Arts and Sciences

Education

• B.S., Jilin University, Changchun, China, 1982, Chemistry
• M.S., Jilin University, Changchun, China, 1985, Biochemistry
• Ph.D., Tokyo Institute of Technology, Japan, 1990, Molecular Biology

Professional Experience

• Postdoctoral Fellow, The Scripps Research Institute, California, 1990-1994, Vascular Biology.
• Research Associate, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Ohio, 1995-1999, Vascular Biology

Teaching & Training

• Graduate Course: Vascular cell signaling; Molecular mechanisms of vascular disease
• Training undergraduate/graduate students and postdoctoral fellows

Selected Awards/Honors and Positions

• 1998 Scientist Development Award from the American Heart Association
• 2002 Pfizer Basic Research Award
• 2003 American Heart Association Research Award (GIA)
• 2004 Philip Morris Research Award
• 2006 The University of Tennessee Chancellor’s Award for Research and Creative Achievement
• 2010 RayBiotechnology Inc Research Award
• 2013– Editorial Board, Journal of Biological Chemistry
• 2018 University of Texas System STAR Award 

Research Interests

• Phospholipid interaction with vascular cells
• Smooth muscle cell proliferation and migration
• Endothelial cell dysfunction
• Foam cell formation
• Macrophage migration
• Gene expression
• Signal transduction
• Matricellular protein function

The research goal of my laboratory is to understand molecular mechanisms
underlying vascular diseases, such as atherosclerosis, restenosis and thrombosis.
The focus of our research is to investigate vascular diseases caused by aberrant
signaling mechanisms, including extracellular molecule interaction with cell
membrane receptors, signal transduction pathways, gene transcription and
protein modification. We integrate molecular, cellular and genetic approaches to
discover the mechanisms that control the progression of vascular disease.

Selected Recent Publications: 

• Hao, F., Tan, M., Xu, X., and Cui, M.-Z., Histamine Induces Egr-1 Expression
  in Human Aortic Endothelial Cells via the H1 Receptor-mediated Protein
  Kinase Cd-Dependent ERK Activation Pathway, J. Biol. Chem, 2008, 283(40):
  26928–26936.
• Tan, M., Hao, F., Xu, X., Chisolm, G. and Cui, M.-Z.,
  Lysophosphatidylcholine activates a novel PKD2-mediated signaling pathway
  that controls monocytic THP-1 cell migration, Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol.,
  2009, 29:1376-1382.
• Hao, F. Tan, M. Wu, D. Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z., Lysophosphatidic acid
  induction of interleukin 6 secretion from aortic smooth muscle cells via LPA1
  regulated, PKC dependent and p38alpha mediated pathway, American Journal
  of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory Physiology, 2010, 298(3):H974-83.
• Wang, Kan; Cai, Lei; Hao, Feng; Xu, Xuemin; Cui, M.-Z.; Wang, Shanfeng,
  Distinct Cell Responses to Substrates Consisting of Poly(ε-caprolactone) and
  Poly(propylene fumarate) in the Presence or Absence of Crosslinks.
  Biomacromolecules, 2010,11(10):2748-59.
• Cui, M.-Z., (review) Lysophosphatidic acid effects on atherosclerosis and
  thrombosis. Clinical Lipidology, 2011, 6(4), 413-426.
• Takuya, I., Zhang, F., Sun, L., Hao, F., Schmitz, C., Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z.,
  Lysophosphatidic Acid Induces Early Growth Response-1 (Egr-1) Protein
  Expression via Protein Kinase Cδ-regulated Extracellular Signal-regulated
  Kinase (ERK) and c-Jun N-terminal Kinase (JNK) Activation in Vascular
  Smooth Muscle Cells. J. Biol. Chem. 2012, 287: 22635-22642.
• Zeng L, Li T, Xu DC, Liu J, Cui M.-Z, Fu X, Xu X. Death Receptor 6 Induces
  Apoptosis Not through Thype I or Type II Pathways, but via a Unique
  Mitochondria-dependent Pathway by Interacting with Bax Protein. J. Biol.
  Chem. 2012, 287(34):29125-33.
• Mao, G, Cui M.-Z, Li, T, Jin, Y, Xu, X. Pen-2 is dispensable for
  endoproteolysis of presenilin 1, and nicastrin-Aph subcomplex is important for
  both γ-secretase assembly and substrate recruitment. J. Neurochem.
  2012,123(5):837-44.
• Hao, F., Wu, D. Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z.,Histamine induces activation of protein
  kinase D that mediates tissue factor expression and activity in human aortic
  smooth muscle cells. American Journal of Physiology-Heart and Circulatory
  Physiology, 2012, 303(11):H1344-52.
• Shi, J., Dong, Y., Cui, M.-Z. and Xu, X., Lysophosphatidic acid induces
  increased BACE1 expression and Abeta formation, Accepted for publication
  on Biochim Biophys Acta- Molecular Basis of Disease, 2013, 1832(1):29-38.
• Li, Ting, Zeng, L., Gao, W., Cui, M.-Z., Fu, X. and Xu, X. PSAP induces a
  unique Apaf-1 and Smac-dependent mitochondrial apoptotic pathway
  independent of Bcl-2 family proteins. Biochim Biophys Acta- Molecular Basis
  of Disease. 2013, 1832(3):453-74.
• Wu, DD, Zhang, F, Hao, F, Chun, J, Xu, X and Cui, M.-Z., Matricellular
  Protein Cyr61 Bridges Lysophosphatidic Acid and Integrin Pathways Leading
  to Cell Migration, J. Biol. Chem. 2014, 289(9): 5774-5783.
• Kimura, TE, Hindmarch, CC, Hewer, RC, Cui, M.-Z., Newby, AC and Bond,
  M., Inhibition of Egr1 expression underlies the anti-mitogenic effects of cAMP
  in vascular smooth muscle cells, J Mol Cell Cardiol. 2014, Jul;72:9-19.
• Zhang, F., Hao, F., An, D., Zeng, L., Wang, Y., Xu, X., and Cui, M.-Z.,
  Matricellular Protein Cyr61 Is a Key Mediator of Platelet-derived Growth
  Factor-induced Cell Migration, J. Biol. Chem. 2015, 290(13): 8232–8242.
• Zeng, L., Hu, C., Zhang, F., Xu, DC., Cui, M. Z., and Xu, X., FLIP and PSAP
  Mediate Presenilin 1-induced γ-secretase dependent and independent apoptosis
  respectively. J Biol Chem. 2015, 24;290(30):18269-80.
• Cui, M. Z., (Editorial Focus) Potential therapeutics for myocardial ischemiareperfusion
  injury. Focus on "Induction of cardioprotection by small netrin-1
  derived peptides". American Journal of Physiology - Cell Physiology. 2015 Jul
  15;309(2):C97-9.
• Hu C, Zeng L, Li T, Meyer MA, Cui M.-Z, Xu X, Nicastrin is required for
  APP but not Notch processing, while Aph-1 is dispensable for processing of
  both APP and Notch. J Neurochem. 2016,136, 1246-1258
• Huang, Y., Wang, Y., Tan L., Sun, L., Petrosino, J., Cui, M.-Z., Hao, F. and
  Zhang, M., Nanospherical arabinogalactan proteins are a key component of the
  high-strength adhesive secreted by English Ivy, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
  2016, Jun 7;113(23): E3193-202.
• Hao, F., Zhang, F., Wu, D. D., An, D., Shi, J., Li, G., Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z.
  Lysophosphatidic acid-induced vascular neointimal formation in mouse carotid
  arteries is mediated by the matricellular protein CCN1/Cyr61. American
  Journal of Physiology- Cell Physiology. 2016 Dec 1;311(6):C975-C984.
  PMID: 27760754.
• Dou, Q., Hao, F., Sun, L., Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z. CREB and SRF mediate
  LPA-induced CCN1 expression in vascular smooth muscle cells. Canadian
  Journal of Physiology & Pharmacology. 2017 Mar;95(3):275-280. Doi:
  10.1139/cjpp-2016-0559, PMID:28157379
• Hu, C., Xu, J., Zeng, L., Li, T., Cui, M.-Z., and Xu, X. Pen-2 and presenilin are
  sufficient to catalyze Notch processing. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease. 2017;
  56 (4), 1263-1269. PMID: 28234257
• Dong Y., Wu, Y., Cui, M.-Z., and Xu, X. Lysophosphatidic acid triggers
  apoptosis in HeLa cells through the upregulation of tumor necrosis actor
  receptor superfamily member 21, Mediators Inflamm. 2017; 2017:2754756.
  doi: 10.1155/2017/2754756. PMID:28348459. PMCID: PMC5350427.
• An, D., Hao, F., Zhang, F., Kong, W., Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z. CD14 Is a Key
  Mediator of Both Lysophosphatidic Acid and Lipopolysaccharide Induction of
  Foam Cell Formation. J. Biol. Chem. 2017, Sep 1; 292(35):14391-14400. doi:
  10.1074/jbc.M117.781807. Epub 2017 Jul 13. PMID: 28705936.
• Jin, R., Xiao, A.Y., Song, Z., Yu, S., Li, J., Cui, M.-Z., Li, G., Platelet CD40
  Mediates Leukocyte Recruitment and Neointima Formation after Arterial
  Denudation Injury in Atherosclerosis-Prone Mice. Am. J. Pathol., 2017 Oct 14.
  pii: S0002-9440(17)30009-3. doi: 10.1016/j.ajpath.2017.09.007.
  PMID:29037856
• An, D., Hao, F., Hu, C., Kong, W., Xu, X. and Cui, M.-Z. JNK1 mediates
  lipopolysaccharide-induced CD14 and SR-AI expression and macrophage
  foam cell formation. Front Physiol. 2018 Jan 5;8:1075. doi:
  10.3389/fphys.2017.01075. PMID: 29354064