Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Judith K. Christman, Ph.D.

Back to Top

ACADEMIC DEGREES:

Graduate School:            Columbia University, New York, Ph.D., Biochemistry
Post-doctoral Training:     Research Fellow, New York Blood Center

Back to Top

Contact Name: Judith K. Christman, Ph.D.
Phone Number: 402-559-6660; lab: 402-559-9303
e-mail address: jchristm@unmc.edu

Back to Top

• GRANT SUPPORT (active within last 3 years):

NSF EPSCoR RII:  PI: Choobineh, F., Director of Nebraska EPSCoR.  Project Leader UNMC: Christman, J.,  Inviestigators:  Christman, J., Lyubchenco, Y., and Borgstahl, G.  8/01/2007-7/30/2010   "Nano-Enhanced Epigenetics Research (NE²R) in Nebraska."  Total budget: $9,000,000, UNMC budget: $1,821,094. 

Lymphoma Research Foundation:  Co-PIs: Greiner, T.,Christman, J., Co-I Klinkebiel, D, $747,511, 5/01/2007-4/30/2010 “Methylation Analysis in an International Group of Mantle Cell Lymphomas”.

NIH 1U54-CA100926-01 L. Augenlicht, PI. 8/01/03-8/31/08 Montefiore Medical Center Subcontract, PI, J. Christman; $450,000  “Molecular Nutrient Interactions in Intestinal Cancer”

ACS- PI: Yaping Tu, Co-Is: Lin M.F., Christman, J., 1/01/07-12/31/10 “Regulator of G-Protein Signaling (RGS) Proteins in Prostate Cancer.” Subcontract: $89,545.

NIH R21ES015206-01 Co-PIs:  Zempleni, J, Christman, J, West, J. 10/1/06-9/30/08: $275,000. “Epigenetic Effects of Biotin on Activation of Endogenous Viral Sequences in the Human Genome”

NIH R01 CA88184  PI:  Lin, M.,  Co-I: Christman, J.:  9/25/06-7/31/11 “Signaling in Androgen-Refractory Prostate Cancer Cells” $896,880

NIH 1S10RR19278-01  PI:  J. Christman; $379,139; 6/1/06-5/31/07“Zeiss Meta 510 Confocal Imaging System”  

Leukemia Research Foundation (2/1/04-1/31/08).  $889,423.  “Methylation Analysis in Mantle Cell Lymphoma”. Greiner and J. Christman (Co-PIs)

Montefiore Medical Center (subcontract), 4/1/03 – 3/31/08; $392,638/yr, “Molecular Nutrient Interactions in Intestinal Cancer” (J. Christman, PI)

Back to Top

• PUBLICATIONS (last 6 years):

Brank, A.S., Van Bemmel, D.M., and  Christman, J.K.  Optimization of Baculovirus-Mediated Expression and Purification of Hexahistidine-tagged Murine DNA (Cytosine-C5)-Methyltransferase-1 in Sf9Cells. Protein Expression and Purification 25(1): 31-40, 2002.

Christman, J.K. 5-Azacytidine and 5-aza2’-deoxyazacytidine as inhibitors of DNA methylation: Mechanistic studies and their implications for cancer therapy.   Oncogene 21: 5483-5495, 2002.

Brank, A.S.,  Eritja, R., Garcia, R.G., Marquez, V.E. and Christman, J.K. Inhibition of HhaI DNA (Cytosine-C5) methyltransferase by oligodeoxyribonucleotides containing 5-aza2'-deoxycytidine: Examination of the intertwined roles of co-factor, target, transition state structure and enzyme conformation.   J. Mol. Biol.323: 53-67, 2002.

Christman, J.K. Diet, DNA Methylation and Cancer In: Molecular Nutrition, Eds. H. Daniel and J. Zempleni.  pp. 237-265, CABI Publishing, Oxon, UK, 2003. 

      Marquez, V.E., Eritja, R, Kelly, J.A., VanBemmel, D., and Christman, J.K.  Potent Inhibition of  HhaI DNA Methylase by the Aglycon of 2-(1H)-Pyrimidinone Riboside (Zebularine) at the GCGC Recognition Domain.  Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 1002: 154-164 (2003).

Velcich, A, Klampfer, L.,  Mariadason, J, Smartt, H, Guilmeau, S, Maier, S, Yang, W, Christman,J.K., Heerdt, H and Augenlicht,L. Cell and Molecular Pathways in Intestinal Mucosal Homeostasis: Their Perturbations in Cancer Development, and Response to Chemo- and Nutritional Prevention Nutritional Oncology, Second Edition, in press.

Zempleni, J., Kirkland, J.B., Buckles, L. and Christman, J.K. Vitamin-dependent Modifications of Chromatin:  Epigenentic Events and Genomic Stability.  CRC Handbook of Vitamins.  In press.

M-S Lee, T. Igawa, S-J Chen, D. VanBemmel, J.S. Lin, F-F Lin, S.L. Johansson, J.K. Christman and M-F Lin.  p66^Shc protein is upregulated by steroid hormones in hormone-sensitive cancer cells and in primary prostate carcinomas, Int. J. Cancer 108: 672-678, 2004.

Fang, M.Z., Chen, D., Sun, Y., Christman, J.K. and Yang, C.S. Reversal of hypermethylation and reactivation of p16, RARß, and MGMT genes by genistein and other isoflavones from soy.  Clinical Cancer  Res. 11: 7033-41, 2005.

Yang, J.L., Klinkebiel. D., Boland. M.J., Tang. L., Christman. J.K. Promoter methylation and mRNA expression of MCF10 model cell lines of breast cancer. Chinese Journal of Pathology. Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi. 34:177-8, 2005.

Velcich, A, Klampfer, L.,  Mariadason, J, Smartt, H, Guilmeau, S, Maier, S, Yang, W, Christman, J.K., Heerdt, H and Augenlicht,L  Cell and Molecular Pathways in Intestinal Mucosal Homeostasis: Their Perturbations in Cancer Development, and Response to Chemo- and Nutritional Prevention.. pp. 25-56   In: Nutritional Oncology, Second Edition, 2006  Eds: David Heber, George L. Blackburn, Vay Liang W. Go, and John Milner.

Zempleni, J., Kirkland, J.B., Buckles, L. and Christman, J.K.Vitamin-dependent Modifications of Chromatin:  Epigenentic Events and Genomic Stability. In: Handbook of Vitamins,   Fourth Edition, 2007 Eds. Zempleni, J., Rucker, R.B, Suttie, R.B. and McCormick, D.B. CRC Press LLC

Yang JL, Klinkebiel D, Boland MJ, Tang L, Christman JK. Promoter methylation  and mRNA expression of WT1 gene in MCF10 breast cancer model  Zhonghua Bing Li Xue Za Zhi. 36:253-8, 2007 

Boland MJ, Christman JK.  Characterization of Dnmt3b:thymine-DNA glycosylase interaction and stimulation of thymine glycosylase-mediated repair by DNA methyltransferase(s) and RNA. J Mol Biol. 379: 492-504, 2008

Radhakrishnan P, Basma H, Klinkebiel D, Christman J, Cheng PW. Cell type-specific activation of the cytomegalovirus promoter by dimethylsulfoxide and 5-Aza-2'-deoxycytidine.  Int J Biochem Cell Biol. 40:1944-55, 2008.

Boland, M.J. and Christman, J.K.  Function of DNA Methyltransferases in diet induced epigenetic changes. in: Nutrients and Epigenetics, ed.  Sang Woon Choi.  In press, 2008, CRC Press LLC

Iqbal, J., Kucuk,C. deLeeuw,R., Srivastava, G., Tam,  W., Geng, H., Klinkebiel, D., Christman, J.K., Patel, K., Cao, K., Shen, L., Dybkaer, K., Tsui, I., Ali, H., Shimizu, N., Au, W., Lam, W. and Chan, J-W. Genomic analyses reveal global functional alterations that promote tumor growth and novel tumor suppressor genes in natural killer-cell malignancies.  Submitted, Cancer Res, 2008

Chew, Y.C., West, J., Kratzer S., Ilvarsonn, A, Eissenberg, J., Dave, B., Klinkebiel D., Christman J.K. and Zempleni, J.   Diet-dependent epigenetic mechanism that represses transposable elements   Submitted, American J. of Physiol. Cell Biol., 2008

Christman, J. K. Folate Influences on Epigenetic Gene Regulation in: Folate in Health and Disease. 2^nd Edition, ed. Lynn Bailley Taylor and Francis Group, LLC.  In press, 2008

Back to Top

(+ medical center or university faculty; #research fellows; ~biotech or pharmaceutical; ^opostdoctoral; X-non-research/scientific employment; * current students. WSU=Wayne State Univ. MSSM=Mount Sinai School of Medicine.)

Graduate Students	Postdoctoral Fellows
*Michael Boland, UNMC	+Rhonda Nicholson, Ph.D., WSU
*Amy Farrel, UNMC	oLin Chen, Ph.D., WSU
*Dana Van Bemmel, UNMC	+Min Xu, MD., Ph.D., WSU
~Virginia Haynes, UNMC	#Li Wang, Ph.D., WSU
oAdam Brank, UNMC	+Robert Welte (Masters degree), WSU
XBruce Gott, UNMC	oBetti Reiss, Ph.D., NYU
oNadine Weich, Ph.D., MSSM	+Richard Copp, Ph.D., NYU
+Francine Creusot, Ph.D., MSSM	XRochelle Kehoe, Ph.D., MSSM
+Adam Brank, Ph.D., UNMC	oGary Vorsanger, MD. Ph.D., MSSM
	+Tina Calderon, Ph.D., MSSM
	#Soudamini Kurumboor, Ph.D., UNMC
	XHemant Tewari, Ph.D., UNMC
	+Zee-Fen Chang, Ph.D., WSU
	+Mary Ann Sells, Ph.D., MSSM
	+Silke Wahl, Ph.D., MSSM
	+Wolfe Offensperger, Ph.D., MSSM
	oNaomi Mendelsohn, Ph.D., MSSM
	+Constantine S. Flordellis, Ph.D., MSSM
	+Peter Price, Ph.D., MSSM

Back to Top

The basic goals of research in Dr. Christman's laboratory are to understand what abnormalities in gene regulation lead to malignant transformation of cells and what mechanisms are involved in restoring tumor cells to a normal phenotype.  Ongoing projects in Dr. Christman's laboratory include a variety of studies on regulation of DNA methylation and the effects of DNA methylation on gene expression in breast, colon, lymphoma and prostate cells and tissues. These range from characterization of the mechanism of action of DNA methyltransferases using defined oligodeoxynucleotide substrates and suicide inhibitors to studies of the role of DNA methyltransferases in DNA repair in mammalian cells.

Back to Top

• SPECIALIZED LABORATORY/CLINICAL RESEARCH RESOURCES:

Access to advance equipment for real time PCR and robotic handling for mass throughput analysis of methylation in specific gene promoters and CpG islands.  Confocal microscopy.

Back to Top