CSB Faculty

Lily Q. Dong, Ph.D.
Professor

Iowa State University, 1991

MED 2.061V
(210) 567-4849
dongq@uthscsa.edu

Dr. Dong has been an active member of the American Diabetes Society. She was a recipient of Career Development Award (2004-2009) from American Diabetes Association and is currently serving on ADA Research Grant Review Committee. She has served on multiple NIH study sections and is on the editorial board of Adipocyte journal. Dr. Dong also participates in graduate student teaching. She is a Team Leader in the Graduate Core Course (Fundamental of Biomedical Science). Dr. Dong received the Departmental Graduate Teaching Award in 2008. She was named as an Academic Member by the University of Texas Health Science Center and awarded as a Distinguished Teaching Professor by the University of Texas Board of Regents in 2010.

Research Interest:
Insulin resistance is a primary contributing factor in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. This condition is characterized by the loss of insulin sensitivity in insulin target tissues, resulting in an impairment of glucose breakdown and an unregulated production of glucose in hepatic cells, and a reduction of glucose uptake in skeletal muscle, which causes a greatly increased glucose level in the bloodstream. Adiponectin is a hormone secreted from adipose tissue. The serum concentration of adiponectin is significantly reduced in type 2 diabetic and obese patients. A number of studies have shown that adiponectin is an insulin sensitizer by enhancing insulin sensitivity, suggesting that the molecules in adiponectin signal pathways could be targets of therapeutic drug development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and obesity. However, the molecular mechanism governing adiponectin action is largely unknown.

Our research interest is mainly focused on: 1) the elucidation of the molecular pathway(s) mediating adiponectin signaling in cells and in vivo; and 2) the investigation of the molecular mechanism of the cross-talk between insulin signaling pathway and adiponectin signaling pathway.

We have identified APPL1, an adaptor protein with multiple function domains, as the first signaling molecule immediate binding to adiponectin receptors, and positively mediating adiponectin signaling in muscle cells (Figure 1) (Mao et al., 2006, Nature Cell Biology, 8: 516-523, PMID: 16622416 ). Our work has been described by peers as "identifying a novel mechanism linking adiponectin to insulin sensitization" and "opening doors to exciting avenues of investigation in adiponectin signaling system" (Research Highlight Commentary by Hosch et al, 2006, in Cell Metabolism, 4, 5-6). This publication was the highlighted research article on the cover page of the issue of Nature Cell Biology.

Recently, we have shown that APPL2, an isoform of APPL1, negatively regulates adiponectin signaling. We proposed that APPL1/APPL2 isoforms function as an integrated "Yin-Yang" regulator in adiponectin signaling (Figure 2) (Wang et al., 2009, JBC, 284, 31608-31615, PMID:19661063). The findings from our studies provide potential mechanisms behind insulin resistance and the development of type 2 diabetes.

Research Techniques:
General techniques in signal transduction
Yeast two-hybrid system
Cell culture
Confocal optical imaging
Lipid and glucose assays
Genetic mouse model generation

PUBLICATIONS:
(Publications before 1997 were under the name of Dong, Q.)

Deepa SS, Zhou L, Ryu J, Wang C, Mao X, Li C, Zhang N, Musi N, Defronzo RA, Liu F, Dong LQ. (2011) APPL1 Mediates Adiponectin-Induced LKB1 Cytosolic Localization Through the PP2A-PKC{zeta} Signaling Pathway. Mol Endocrinol. 2011 Aug 11.

Xin X, Zhou L, Reyes CM, Liu F, Dong LQ. (2011) APPL1 mediates adiponectin-stimulated p38 MAPK activation by scaffolding the TAK1-MKK3-p38 MAPK pathway. Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab. 2011 Jan;300(1):E103-10.

Holmes RM, Yi Z, De Filippis E, Berria R, Shahani S, Sathyanarayana P, Sherman V, Fujiwara K, Meyer C, Christ-Roberts C, Hwang H, Finlayson J, Dong LQ, Mandarino LJ, Bajaj M. (2011) Increased abundance of the adaptor protein containing pleckstrin homology domain, phosphotyrosine binding domain and leucine zipper motif (APPL1) in patients with obesity and type 2 diabetes: evidence for altered adiponectin signalling. Diabetologia. 2011 Aug;54(8):2122-31.

Tu Q, Zhang J, Dong LQ, Saunders E, Luo E, Tang J, Chen J. (2011) Adiponectin inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption via APPL1-mediated suppression of Akt1. J Biol Chem. 2011 Apr 8;286(14):12542-53.

Wang A, Liu M, Liu X, Dong LQ, Glickman RD, Slaga TJ, Zhou Z, Liu F. (2011) Up-regulation of adiponectin by resveratrol: the essential roles of the Akt/FOXO1 and AMP-activated protein kinase signaling pathways and DsbA-L. J Biol Chem. 2011 Jan 7;286(1):60-6.