Mark Wilson
Professor Biochemistry University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Contact
- Address
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BEAD N118
Lincoln NE 68588-0664 - Phone
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402-472-3626 On-campus 2-3626
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mwilson13@unl.edu
Research interests
DJ-1 is a protein implicated in a variety of diseases (e.g., prostate cancer, Parkinson's Disease) and plays an important role in the cellular defense against oxidative stress and mitochondrial damage. Cells lacking DJ-1 accumulate reactive oxygen species and die prematurely, and neuronal cells of the midbrain appear to be particularly sensitive to DJ-1 deficiency. Dr. Wilson has applied structural and biophysical approaches to examine specific molecular features that allow DJ-1 to respond to reactive oxygen species. Interestingly, he has shown that the protein initially requires an oxidation event at a conserved cysteine residue for its cytoprotective activity, and that this event regulates subsequent apoptotic signaling. Students in Dr. Wilson's laboratory are currently examining the structural elements of DJ-1 that lead to its oxidative sensing through cysteine oxidation, comparing structure and function of DJ-1 homologues from diverse organisms, and examining the molecular basis for pathogenesis of clinical DJ-1 mutants.