Ming Tian

Title: Assistant Professor

 
Education: Ph.D.: 1994, Harvard
Postdoc.: Boston Children's Hospital
Research: Control and mechanism of DNA recombination required for generating antibody diversity in B cells
Office: NMS 1.118
Phone: (512) 471-5752    Fax: 512-471-7088
E-mail: tian@mail.utexas.edu
Postal Address:
The University of Texas at Austin
Molecular Genetics & Microbiology
1 University Station  A5000
Austin TX 78712-0162
Courses taught:  BIO 360k

My research interest is the DNA recombination events that are involved in generating antibody diversity in B cells.  The large repertoire of antigen specificity and different effector functions of antibodies are achieved through a series of programmed DNA recombination events during B cell development.  These include V(D)J recombination, class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and gene conversion.  Although apparently different processes, class switch recombination, somatic hypermutation, and gene conversion may share common mechanisms.  One salient feature is that these processes are closely linked with transcription.  The precise role of transcription is unclear.  Several hypotheses have been proposed.  One potential function of transcription is to open up chromatin structure and render the recombination targets accessible to recombination factors.  Secondly, transcription is capable of inducing unusual DNA structures, which have been implicated in recombination.  Thirdly, transcription could recruit recombination factors to the target sites.  I would like to use a combination of genetic and biochemical approaches to understand how these mechanisms contribute to the B cell-specific recombination events.

Selected Publications

Growth Retardation, Early Death, and DNA Repair Defects in Mice Deficient for the Nucleotide Excision Repair Enzyme XPF.
Tian M, Shinkura R, Shinkura N, Alt FW.
Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Feb; 24(3): 1200-1205.
 

Deficiency in the Nuclease Activity of Xeroderma Pigmentosum G in Mice Leads to Hypersensitivity to UV Irradiation.

Tian M, Jones DA, Smith M, Shinkura R, Alt FW.
Mol Cell Biol. 2004 Mar; 24(6): 2237-2242.
PMCID: 355871

 

Single-nucleotide polymorphism in the human mu opioid receptor gene alters β-endorphin binding and activity: Possible implications for opiate addiction.
Bond C, LaForge KS, Tian M, Melia D, Zhang S, Borg L, Gong J, Schluger J, Strong JA, Leal SM, Tischfield JA, Kreek MJ, Yu L.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1998 Aug 4; 95(16): 9608-9613.

 

Influence of transcriptional orientation on endogenous switch region function.
Shinkura, R.*, Tian, M.*, Smith, M., Chua, K. and Alt, F. W.  Nature
Immunology 4, 435-441 (2003).
*equal contribution.

 
Growth retardation, early death, and DNA repair defects in mice deficient for the nucleotide excision repair enzyme XPF.
Tian, M., Shinkura, R., Shinkura, N., and Alt, F. W.  Mol. Cell. Biol. 24, 1200-1205 (2004).

 
Deficiency in the Nuclease Activity of Xeroderma Pigmentosum G in Mice Leads to Hypersensitivity to Ultraviolet Irradiation.
Tian, M., Jones, D. A., Smith, M., Shinkura, R., and Alt, F. W.  Mol. Cell. Biol. 24, 2237-2241
(2004).

 
An Evolutionarily Conserved Target Motif for Immunoglobulin Heavy Chain Class Switch Recombination. Nature Immunology 5
Zarrin, A.*, Alt, F. W. Chaudhuri, J., Stokes, N., Kaushal, D., Du Pasquier,
L. and Tian, M.*,1275-1281 (2004).
* equal contribution

 

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