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Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Professor Emeritus

Email Dr. Young
Phone Number: 502-852-1294
Fax: 502-852-4702

Address: 501 S. Preston St.
Louisville, KY 40202

PhD, 1975, Washington University, St. Louis, MO

Research Interests:

Expression of mucin glycosyltransferases

Laboratory Personnel:

Imbert, Yoannis

Our lab is focused on mucins and polypeptide GalNAc transferases (ppGaNTases), the family of glycosyltransferases that initiate mucin O-glycosylation. There are two main projects.

(1) Dry eye disease. Many older people, primarily women, are afflicted with this problem which can lead to scarring of the cornea and loss of vision. The etiology of the disease is unknown in many cases. Our hypothesis is that susceptibility to dry eye is related to ocular surface mucins and sex steroid hormone receptors.

(2) Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths for both men and women. The higher frequency of lung adenocarcinoma in women than in men, in both smokers and non-smokers, suggests the involvement of gender-dependent factors in lung cancer etiology. We are exploring the role of mucins and sex steroid hormone receptors in lung adenocarcinoma.

Funding:

NIH grant RO3 EY015134
NIH Minority Predoctoral Fellowship (Y. Imbert)
Joan's Legacy Lung Cancer Foundation and The Thomas G. Labrecque Foundation

Selected Publications:

Allende, M.L., Li, J., Darling, D.S., Worth, C.A., and Young, W.W. Young, Jr. Evidence supporting a late Golgi location for lactosylceramide to ganglioside GM3 conversion. Glycobiology 10, 1025-1032, 2000.

Li, J., Yen, T-Y., Allende, M.L., Joshi, R.K., Cai, J., Pierce, W.M., Jaskiewicz, J., Darling, D.S., Macher, B.A., and Young, W.W., Jr. Disulfide bonds of GM2 synthase homodimers: Antiparallel orientation of the catalytic domains. J.Biol.Chem. 275, 41476-41486, 2000.

Li, J., Rancour, D.M., Allende, M.L., Worth, C.A., Darling, D.S., Gilbert, J.B., Menon, A.K., and Young, W.W., Jr. The DXD motif is required for GM2 synthase activity but is not critical for nucleotide binding. Glycobiology 11, 217-229, 2001.

Young, W.W., Jr., Holcomb, D.R., Ten Hagen, K.G., and Tabak, L.A. Expression of UDP-GalNAc:polypeptide N-acetylgalactosaminyltransferase isoforms in murine tissues determined by real-time PCR: A new view of a large family. Glycobiology 13, 549-557, 2003.

Young, W.W., Jr. Organization of Golgi glycosyltransferases in membranes: Complexity via complexes. J. Memb. Biol. 198, 1-13, 2004.

Young, W.W., Jr. Organization of Golgi glycosyltransferases in membranes: Complexity via complexes.  J. Memb. Biol. 198, 1-13, 2004.

Tian, E., Ten Hagen, K.G., Shum, L., Hang, H.C., Imbert, Y., Young, W.W., Jr., Bertozzi, C.R., and Tabak, L.A. An inhibitor of O-glycosylation induces apoptosis in NIH3T3 cells and developing mouse embryonic mandibular tissues.  J.Biol.Chem. 279, 50382-90, 2004 .

Wei, Y., Yen, T-Y., Cai, J., Trent, J.O., Pierce, W.M., and Young, W.W., Jr. Structural features of the lysosomal hydrolase mannose 6-phosphate uncovering enzyme.  Glycoconjugate J. 22, 13-19, 2005.

Imbert, Y., Darling, D.S., Jumblatt, M.M., Foulks, G.N., Couzin, E.G., Steele, P.S., and Young, W.W., Jr. MUC1 splice variants in human ocular surface tissues: possible differences between dry eye patients and normal controls, Exp. Eye Res.     83, 493-501, 2006.

Jumblatt, M.J., Imbert, Y., Young, W.W. Jr., Foulks, G.N., Steele, P.S., and Demuth, D.R. Glycoprotein 340 in normal human ocular surface tissues and tear film, Infection and Immunity 74, 4058-4063, 2006.

Imbert, Y., Jumblatt, M.M., Foulks, G.N., Couzin, E.G., Steele, P.S., and Young, W.W., Jr. Expression in human ocular surface tissues of the GalNAc-transferases  that initiate mucin-type O-glycosylation.  Cornea, in press.