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Zhixin (Jason) Zhang, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Medicine

 

Phone: 205-934-6761

E-Mail: zhixin.zhang@ccc.uab.edu

 

 

 

Dr. Zhang received his B.S. and M.S. in molecular biology from Nankai University, P.R. China.  He then earned his Ph.D. in cytokine signaling and the regulation of fibrinogen gene expression in the Department of Cell Biology at UAB.  After post-doctoral fellowships in the Division of Rheumatology and the Division of Developmental and Clinical Immunology at UAB in the molecular regulation of B cell development, he joined the Division of Developmental and Clinical Immunology in 2003 as an Assistant Professor of Medicine.  He is the recipient of several awards for excellence in research.

The overall theme of Dr. Zhang's laboratory is the molecular regulation of early B cell development and antibody repertoire formation.  His research focuses on immunoglobulin gene rearrangement.  Recently, he defined a function of Pax5, a B lineage-specific transcription factor that regulates recombination activating gene (RAG)-mediated recombination of immunoglobulin gene VH to DJH.  Dr. Zhang's laboratory also has dissected the molecular basis for VH replacement and showed its natural occurance during B cell development.  Current projects explore the regulatory function of Pax5 and the regulation of VH replacement in the generation of auto-reactive antibodies and anti-HIV-1 antibodies.

Selected Publications

  1. Zhang, Z., Fuentes, N.L. and Fuller, G.M.  Characterization of the IL-6-reesponsive elements in the g fibrinogen gene promoter. J. Biol. Chem. 279:24287-24291, 1995.

 

  1. Zhang, Z., Jones, S., Hagood, J.S., Fuentes, N.L. and Fuller, G.M.  STAT3 acts as a co-activator of glucocorticoid receptor signaling. J. Biol. Chem. 272:30607-30610, 1997.

 

  1. Zhang, Z., Wu, X., Limbaugh, B>H. and Bridges S.L., Jr.  Expression of recombination-activating genes and terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase and secondary rearrangement of immunoglobulin kappa light chains in rheumatoid arthritis synovial tissue. Arthritis Rheum. 44:2275-2284, 2001.

 

  1. Zhang, Z., Zemlin, M., Wang, Y.-H., Munfus, D., Huye, L.E., Findley, H.W., Bridges, S.L., Jr., Roth, D.B., Burrows, P.D. and Cooper, M.D.  Contribution of VH gene replacement to the primary B cell repertoire. Immunity 19:21-31, 2003.

 

  1. Zhang, Z., Burrows, P.D. and Cooper, M.D.  The molecular basis and biological significance of VH gene replacement. Immunol. Reviews 193:231-242, 2004.

 

  1. Liu, Y., Fan, R., Zhou, S., Yu, Z. and Zhang, Z.  Potential contribution of VH gene replacement in immunity and disease. Annals N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1062:1-7, 2005.

 

  1. Zhang, Z., Espinoza, C.R., Yu, Z., Stephan, R., He, T., Williams, G.S., Burrows, P.D., Hagman, J., Feeney, A.J. and Cooper, M.D. Transcription factor Pax5 (BSAP) transactivates the RAG-mediated VH-to DJH rearrangement of immunoglobulin genes. Nature Immunol. 7:616-624, 2006.

 

  1. Zhang, Z.  VH replacement in mice and humans. Trends Immunol. In press, 2007.