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John E. Pintar
Professor
UMDNJ-RWJMS
RWJ-SPH Bldg. Room 359
683 Hoes Lane
Piscataway. NJ 08854
(732) 235-4250
FAX - 4990
pintar@umdnj.edu |
Genetic and microarray analysis of
endogenous opioid systems; insulin-like growth factor systems in
development and cancer; post-translational processing enzymes
The Pintar laboratory has used mammalian molecular genetic
approaches to produce 16 lines of mice containing null alleles for genes
involved in growth as well as nervous system development and function. Current work involves both the study of these mutant strains using
multiple analytic levels as well as producing conditional knock-outs for several
genes. Perhaps most notably. the
lab has produced knock-outs of the entire opioid system and is now studying the
consequences of these mutations on pain perception and anxiety as well as on
drug-induced tolerance and dependence. Since
specific pathways mediating these processes are interrupted in these mutants. current study involves pharmacological and biochemical approaches to determine
the importance of specific second message pathways and opioid receptor
dimerization on opioid receptor functions. Gene array studies are also underway to identify the molecular
consequences of mutation in our mice. These
studies of opioid receptor function are complemented by molecular study of how
endogenous ligands for these receptors are produced. which requires the action
of multiple enzymes and co-factors. Again
mouse models in which these processing enzymes are mutated is a major thrust in
this research. Finally. we
have also produced targeted mutations of genes in the insulin-like growth factor
(IGF) family. Disrupted genes alter
processes as divergent as growth and cell death and may also contribute to
tumorigenesis. Understanding these
phenotypes. as well as the consequences of combinatorial disruption of these IGF
system genes. constitutes the third current research avenue in the laboratory.
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