Chongren Tang, PhD
Research Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition
Email Address: crtang@u.washington.edu
Division of Metabolism, Endocrinology and Nutrition Website: http://depts.washington.edu/metab/
Background:
Dr. Tang received his medical degree BM (ECFMG certified, MD equivalent) from Shanghai Medical University, China. Soon after his medical training, he left China to join the laboratory of Dr. Steve Clake at the University of Texas at Austin in 1997 to pursue a PhD in the field of Molecular Nutrition. After he received his PhD in 2002, Dr. Tang joined the laboratory of Dr. John Oram at the University of Washington as a senior research fellow in the Divison of Metabolism and Endocrinology, and was appointed to the faculty in 2007. He then joined the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence and currently is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at the University of Washington.
Focus:
Cholesterol accumulation in arterial wall macrophages and inflammation of artery wall both contribute to the development of cardiovascular disease (CVD). HDL appears to protect against CVD by several mechanisms that include removal of cholesterol from arterial wall cells and suppression of inflammation. Two major cardioprotective factors associated with HDL metabolism is ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1), a cell membrane protein that exports cholesterol and phospholipids from cells to lipid-depleted HDL and its apolipoproteins, such as apoA-I; and ATP-binding cassette transporter G1 (ABCG1) which transports cholesterol to mature HDL particles. Dr Tang’s research focuses on understanding the cellular processes and mechanisms involved in the lipid export and the anti-inflammatory activities of ABCA1 and ABCG1.
Since ABCA1 and ABCG1 are major factors that raise HDL levels and protect against CVD, another focus of Dr.Tang’s research is to identify biochemical processes that regulates their expression and activity. Specifically, Dr.Tang’s lab studies the roles and mechanisms of diabetes and diabetes-associated factors on the expression and function of ABCA1 and ABCG1 in vitro and in vivo in collaboration with Dr. Renee Leboeuf, Dr. Alan Chait and Dr. Karin Bornfeldt.
Representative Publications:
Tang. C., Kanter. JE., Bornfeld. KE., Leboeuf, RC., Oram, JF. (2010) Diabetes reduces the cholesterol exporter ABCA1 in mouse macrophages and kidneys. J. Lipid Res.51:1849-58.
Tang, C., Liu, Y., Kessler, PS., Vaughan, AM, Oram, JF. (2009) The macrophage cholesterol exporter ABCA1 functions as an anti-inflammatory receptor. J Biol Chem. 284:32336-43.
Tang, C., Oram, JF. (2009) The cell cholesterol exporter ABCA1 as protector from cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1791:563-72
Vaughan, AM., Tang, C., Oram, JF. (2009) ABCA1 mutants reveal an interdependency between lipid export activity, apoA-I binding activity, and Janus kinase 2 activation. J. Lipid Res. 50: 285-92.
Oram, JF., Wolfbauer, G., Tang, C., Davidson, WS., Albers, JJ. (2008) An amphipathic helical region of the N-terminal barrel of phospholipid transfer protein is critical for ABCA1-dependent cholesterol efflux. J Biol Chem. 283: 11541-9.
Tang, C., Vaughan,AM., Anantharamaiah, GM., and Oram, JF. (2006) Janus Kinase 2 modulates the lipid transport-mediating but not protein-stabilizing interactions of amphipathic helical peptides with ABCA1. J. Lipid Res. 47: 107-14
Passarelli, M., Tang, C., McDonald,TO., Obrien, KD., Gerrity, RG., Heinecke, JW., Oram.,JF. (2005) Advanced glycation end production precursors impair ABCA1-dependent cholesterol removal from cells. Diabetes. 54:2198-2205
Tang, C., Vaughan, AM., Oram, JF. (2004) Janus Kinase 2 modulates the apolipoprotein interactions with ABCA1 required for removing cellular cholesterol. J Biol Chem. 279:7622-8
Oram, JF., Wolfbauer, G., Vaughan, AM., Tang, C., Albers, JJ. (2003) Phospholipid transfer protein interacts with and stabilizes ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 and enhances cholesterol efflux from cells. J. Biol Chem. 278: 52379-85
Tang, C., Cho, HP., and Clarke, SD. (2003) Transcriptional regulation of rat and human delta-6 desaturase genes by fatty acids and WY 14,643: Identification of a functional direct repeat-1 cis-acting element in the human delta-6 desaturase gene. J. Lipid Res. 44: 686-95
Current Collaborations:
Within the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence and its Affiliated Members
Renee LeBoeuf, PhD
Jay Heinecke, MD
Karin Bornfeldt, PhD
Alan Chait, MD
Tomas Vasar, PhD
Baohai Shao, PhD
Outside the Diabetes and Obesity Center of Excellence
Godfrey Getz MD, University of Chicago
Alan Remaley MD, NIH
Michael Phillips PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine
