LU LU, M.D.

Associate Professor

Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology

The University of Tennessee College of Medicine

Address

The University of Tennessee Health Science Center

855 Monroe Avenue, Suite 515

Memphis, TN 38163

Tel: (901) 448-7557; Fax: (901) 448-1716;

Lab: 509 Wittenborg Anatomy Building

Education

M.D. Institution: Nantong Medical College, Nantong, China

Postdoctoral: Columbia University, New York, NY; University of Tennessee, Memphis, TN

Research Interests

I use recombinant inbred (RI) mice and microarrays to study the several brain-related genetic problems. RI mice are an excellent resource for these studies and allow us to examine multiple types of data in a reference population. In addition to using the currently available RI strains, we have recently developed 45 additional BXD RI strains using two advanced intercross lines between C57BL/6 and DBA/2 mice as progenitors. In combination with the previously developed BXD strains this is the largest RI strain set in existence.

Many problems can be efficiently addressed using RI mice. One of these questions is the mechanism of genetic control over brain architecture. In order to study this issue we have collected extensive neuroanatomical and gene expression data in the brains of BXD strains. Because all animals are isogenic, we can collect data of the same and differing types from multiple animals and meaningfully relate each data set. This allows us to determine, for instance, whether steady state expression of a gene is related to an observed phenotype, for instance an aspect of brain architecture or a behavioral difference between strains.

Another fascinating problem that we are able to address with RI lines is the modulation of transcriptional control in response to environmental influences. Using the LXS RI strains we are examining the modulation of transcriptional control in response to alcohol, stress, and the combination of alcohol and stress treatments. By examining modulatory changes in response to these conditions, we hope to gain insight into the molecular substrates underlying differences in ethanol and stress responses—a question thought to be very important in understanding human alcoholism.

Recent Publications

• Reiner DJ, Jan TA, Boughter JD Jr, Li CX, Lu L, Williams RW, Waters RS. Genetic Analysis of Tongue Size and Taste Papillae Number and Size in Recombinant Inbred Strains of Mice. Chem Senses. 2008 Jul 24; [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 18653645
• Peirce JL, Broman KW, Lu L, Chesler EJ, Zhou G, Airey DC, Birmingham AE, Williams RW. Genome Reshuffling for Advanced Intercross Permutation (GRAIP): simulation and permutation for advanced intercross population analysis. PLoS ONE. 2008 Apr 23;3(4):e1977. PMID: 18431467
• Abdeltawab NF, Aziz RK, Kansal R, Rowe SL, Su Y, Gardner L, Brannen C, Nooh MM, Attia RR, Abdelsamed HA, Taylor WL, Lu L, Williams RW, Kotb M. An unbiased systems genetics approach to mapping genetic loci modulating susceptibility to severe streptococcal sepsis. PLoS Pathog. 2008 Apr 18;4(4):e1000042. PMID: 18421376
• Jan TA, Lu L, Li CX, Williams RW, Waters RS. Genetic analysis of posterior medial barrel subfield (PMBSF) size in somatosensory cortex (SI) in recombinant inbred strains of mice. BMC Neurosci. 2008 Jan 7;9:3. PMID: 18179704
• Peirce JL, Broman KW, Lu L, Williams RW. A simple method for combining genetic mapping data from multiple crosses and experimental designs. PLoS ONE. 2007 Oct 17;2(10):e1036. PMID: 17940600
• Miyairi I, Tatireddigari VR, Mahdi OS, Rose LA, Belland RJ, Lu L, Williams RW, Byrne GI. The p47 GTPases Iigp2 and Irgb10 regulate innate immunity and inflammation to murine Chlamydia psittaci infection. J Immunol. 2007 Aug 1;179(3):1814-24. PMID: 17641048

view complete list of references (pubmed link)