Fero, Matthew

The Fero lab is interested in the interplay of cell cycle regulators and microRNA in the regulation of normal development and oncogenesis. We co-discovered the Xpcl1 gene which encodes the miR-106a~363 microRNA cluster.  MCB student, Dan Kuppers, has shown that these miRNA are lymphomagenic and cooperate synergistically with loss of the CDK inhibitor protein, p27^Kip1. Xpcl1 regulates normal thymopoiesis by directly targeting the CD69 cell surface receptor. 

Another interest of the lab is the use of genomics approaches to ascertain the determinants of differentiation and expansion of hematopoietic progenitor populations in the megakaryocyte lineage.  We then translate these data into novel murine transgenic models that self-report their differentiation state with fluorescent proteins, or are modified to allow in vitro expansion of mature megakaryocytes.