DING XU, PhD personal profile
The main interest of the lab is to understand how proteins interact with heparan sulfate (HS), a highly negatively charged linear polysaccharide, and the physiological significance of the interactions in bone remodeling and inflammation. Universally expressed by all mammalian cells, HS is a major and often dominant component of the landscape at the cell surface and thus plays essential roles in cell signaling, cell-cell interactions and host-pathogen interactions. At the cell surface, HS interacts with hundreds of HS-binding proteins, many of which are important drug targets (such as TNF-alpha, interleukin-8 and FGF receptors). The dependence of these proteins on HS for normal function suggests that disrupting HS-protein interaction could be an effective means to block the activity of these HS-binding proteins.
The goal of the lab is to dissect the structural determinants of HS-protein interactions by characterizing structures of HS/protein complexes (using X-ray crystallography and small-angle scattering), and to use this information to develop and test the pre-clinical efficacy of novel therapeutic agents (including monoclonal antibodies, oligosaccharides and small molecules) that target HS-protein interactions in cellular and animal models. The HS-binding proteins we are currently working on include receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) and osteoprotegerin.
Department of Oral Biology
629 BRB
Buffalo, NY 14214
Phone: (716) 829-2844
Fax: (716) 829-3942
Department Chair
Stefan Ruhl, DDS, PhD
shruhl@buffalo.edu
Assistant to the Chair
Kurt Winter, PhD
kwinter@buffalo.edu