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Nicholas Katsanis, Ph.D. Associate Professor, Institute of Genetic Medicine Departments of Ophthalmology, Molecular Biology and Genetics Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. B.S., University College London (1993) Ph.D., University of London (1997) PostDoc, Baylor College of Medicine (2000) |
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Research Interests
Our laboratory uses a multidisciplinary approach to understand the genetic and cellular basis of pleiotropic disease. Our research is driven by several key, challenging questions, including:
1) What is the genetic basis of phenotypic variability in seemingly monogenic disease?
2) How is it that ubiquitously expressed genes give rise to specific phenotypes?
3) What is the mechanistic defect of disorders that exhibit both structural and progressive features?
4) Is there a functional link between rare disorders and common traits with overlapping clinical manifestations? To address such questions, we focused on Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disease characterized by retinal dystrophy, polydactyly, obesity and a constellation of neurological and behavioral abnormalities
1. Genetics
We and others have shown that despite a historical dichotomy between monogenic and complex traits, there exists a continuum of genetic causality, whereby mutations at a discrete number of loci cooperate to either cause the disease or modify the onset and severity of the henotype. In BBS, for example, we have shown that three alleles at two BBS loci can cooperate to influence the penetrance and/or the expressivity of the phenotype. We have been involved in the identification of five of the known eight BBS genes in the human genome and are working to a) identify additional loci; and b) dissect their genetic interaction. In addition, we are querying whether the BBS proteins are involved in common traits that overlap with the BBS phenotype, such as childhood asthma, obesity and psychiatric illness.
2. In vitro studies
To understand genetic interaction, we need to model it at the cellular level. To this end, we have identified a number of novel proteins that interact with the BBS proteins and are working to a) understand the nature of the BBS protein complexes; and b) determine the effect of mutations found in BBS patients on the function of such complexes. These studies are not only revealing new mechanistic insights but also helping identify new modifier genes for the BBS phenotypes.
3. In vivo studies
Together with a network of collaborators, we are recapitulating the human BBS genotypes in several model organisms, including mouse, C. elegans, Drosophila and C. reinhardtii. We are using these models to better understand the function of the BBS proteins as well as their genetic and physical interactions. We have shown recently that the BBS phenotype is caused by defects at the cilia of different cell types, and we are now investigating the cellular and biochemical properties of such structures and their importance in tissue physiology, with particular emphasis on neuronal determination, maturation and migration.
4. Global analysis of the ciliary proteome
To understand the function and dysfunction in our model, we need to assay the system in its totality. To that end, we have used a combination of computational genomics and bench biology to describe a large protein dataset involved in ciliary function and biogenesis. Our analyses suggest that we have identified most of the proteins required for the functionality of this organelle. We are now focusing on understanding the role of these proteins and their genetic and physical interactions by performing RNA interference coupled with microarray analysis on ciliated cells and observing the effects of loss of protein function on ciliary biology.
1) What is the genetic basis of phenotypic variability in seemingly monogenic disease?
2) How is it that ubiquitously expressed genes give rise to specific phenotypes?
3) What is the mechanistic defect of disorders that exhibit both structural and progressive features?
4) Is there a functional link between rare disorders and common traits with overlapping clinical manifestations? To address such questions, we focused on Bardet-Biedl syndrome, a genetically and clinically heterogeneous disease characterized by retinal dystrophy, polydactyly, obesity and a constellation of neurological and behavioral abnormalities
1. Genetics
We and others have shown that despite a historical dichotomy between monogenic and complex traits, there exists a continuum of genetic causality, whereby mutations at a discrete number of loci cooperate to either cause the disease or modify the onset and severity of the henotype. In BBS, for example, we have shown that three alleles at two BBS loci can cooperate to influence the penetrance and/or the expressivity of the phenotype. We have been involved in the identification of five of the known eight BBS genes in the human genome and are working to a) identify additional loci; and b) dissect their genetic interaction. In addition, we are querying whether the BBS proteins are involved in common traits that overlap with the BBS phenotype, such as childhood asthma, obesity and psychiatric illness.
2. In vitro studies
To understand genetic interaction, we need to model it at the cellular level. To this end, we have identified a number of novel proteins that interact with the BBS proteins and are working to a) understand the nature of the BBS protein complexes; and b) determine the effect of mutations found in BBS patients on the function of such complexes. These studies are not only revealing new mechanistic insights but also helping identify new modifier genes for the BBS phenotypes.
3. In vivo studies
Together with a network of collaborators, we are recapitulating the human BBS genotypes in several model organisms, including mouse, C. elegans, Drosophila and C. reinhardtii. We are using these models to better understand the function of the BBS proteins as well as their genetic and physical interactions. We have shown recently that the BBS phenotype is caused by defects at the cilia of different cell types, and we are now investigating the cellular and biochemical properties of such structures and their importance in tissue physiology, with particular emphasis on neuronal determination, maturation and migration.
4. Global analysis of the ciliary proteome
To understand the function and dysfunction in our model, we need to assay the system in its totality. To that end, we have used a combination of computational genomics and bench biology to describe a large protein dataset involved in ciliary function and biogenesis. Our analyses suggest that we have identified most of the proteins required for the functionality of this organelle. We are now focusing on understanding the role of these proteins and their genetic and physical interactions by performing RNA interference coupled with microarray analysis on ciliated cells and observing the effects of loss of protein function on ciliary biology.