Li Cai Assistant Professor Rutgers University Department of Biomedical Engineering 599 Taylor Road, Room 208 Piscataway. NJ 08855 (732) 445-4500, Ext. 6208 FAX - 3753 lcai@rci.rutgers.edu

Neural stem cell research in developing retina using computational and experimental approaches

Neural stem cells give rise to all of the different cell types in the mature nervous system. How these stem cells differentiate into variety functional neurons is a major issue for modern developmental neuroscience/stem cell biology. The Cai lab focuses on photoreceptors in the vertebrate retina, a tractable model for the rest of the central nervous system that is easily accessible to experimental manipulation.

Photoreceptors are specialized type of neurons that are highly sensitive to light, and are essential for vision. They are also most vulnerable to degeneration. Many genetic lesions that lead to their degeneration can cause blindness. Therefore, the study of photoreceptor development from neural stem cells is of great clinical importance. The generation of functioning photoreceptors requires that the appropriate genes are expressed in a precise temporal and spatial fashion. We are using both computational and molecular genetic approaches to elucidate the genetic mechanism that regulates neural retina development. A thorough understanding of the mechanism will provide a basis for the development of therapeutic treatments for diseases ranging from retinal degeneration and Parkinson's disease to heart failure and spinal cord injury.

Selected Publications

Blackshaw S, St Croix B, Polyak K, Kim JB, Cai L. (2007) Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE): experimental method and data analysis. Curr Protoc Hum Genet. Chapter 11:Unit 11.7.

Blackshaw S, Croix BS, Polyak K, Kim JB, Cai L. (2007) Serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE): experimental method and data analysis. Curr Protoc Mol Biol. Chapter 25:Unit 25B.6.

Doh ST, Zhang Y, Temple MH, Cai L. (2007) Non-coding sequence retrieval system for comparative genomic analysis of gene regulatory elements. BMC Bioinformatics. 8:94.

Kim K, Zhang S, Jiang K, Cai L, Lee IB, Feldman LJ, Huang H. (2007) Measuring similarities between gene expression profiles through new data transformations. BMC Bioinformatics. 8:29.

Hars ES, Qi H, Ryazanov AG, Jin S, Cai L, Hu C, Liu LF. (2007) Autophagy regulates ageing in C. elegans. Autophagy. 3(2):93-5.

Lyu YL, Lin CP, Azarova AM, Cai L, Wang JC, Liu LF. (2006) Role of topoisomerase IIbeta in the expression of developmentally regulated genes. Mol Cell Biol. 26(21):7929-41.

Hu M. Yao J. Cai L. Bachman KE. van den Brule F. Velculescu V. Polyak K. (2005) Distinct epigenetic changes in the stromal cells of breast cancers. Nat Genet. Aug;37(8):899-905.

Lepourcelet M. Tou L. Cai L. Sawada J. Lazar AJ. Glickman JN. Williamson JA. Everett AD. Redston M. Fox EA. Nakatani Y. Shivdasani RA. (2005) Insights into developmental mechanisms and cancers in the mammalian intestine derived from serial analysis of gene expression and study of the hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF). Development. Jan;132(2):415-27.

Allinen M. Beroukhim R. Cai L. Brennan C. Lahti-Domenici J. Huang H. Porter D. Hu M. Chin L. Richardson A. Schnitt S. Sellers WR. Polyak K. (2004) Molecular characterization of the tumor microenvironment in breast cancer. Cancer Cell. Jul;6(1):17-32.

Cai L. Huang H. Blackshaw S. Liu JS. Cepko C. Wong WH. (2004) Clustering analysis of SAGE data using a Poisson approach. Genome Biol.5(7):R51.

Blackshaw S. Harpavat S. Trimarchi J. Cai L. Huang H. Kuo WP. Weber G. Lee K. Fraioli RE. Cho SH. Yung R. Asch E. Ohno-Machado L. Wong WH. Cepko CL. (2004) Genomic analysis of mouse retinal development. PLoS Biol. Sep;2(9):E247.

Cai L. Hayes NL. Takahashi T. Caviness VS Jr. Nowakowski RS. (2002) Size distribution of retrovirally marked lineages matches prediction from population measurements of cell cycle behavior. J Neurosci Res. Sep 15;69(6):731-44.

Goh KL. Cai L. Cepko CL. Gertler FB. (2002) Ena/VASP proteins regulate cortical neuronal positioning. Curr Biol. Apr 2;12(7):565-9.

Lu QR. Cai L. Rowitch D. Cepko CL. Stiles CD. (2001) Ectopic expression of Olig1 promotes oligodendrocyte formation and reduces neuronal survival in developing mouse cortex.
Nat Neurosci. Oct;4(10):973-4.

Lin JC. Cai L. Cepko CL. (2001) The external granule layer of the developing chick cerebellum generates granule cells and cells of the isthmus and rostral hindbrain. J Neurosci. Jan 1;21(1):159-68.

Cai L. Morrow EM. Cepko CL. (2000) Misexpression of basic helix-loop-helix genes in the murine cerebral cortex affects cell fate choices and neuronal survival. Development. Jul;127(14):3021-30.