ASU SoLS Faculty: J. Alan Rawls

Muscle development and repair of postnatal skeletal muscle is dependent on the activation and differentiation of myogenic progenitor cells that display stem cell-like properties. This is a potentially exploitable cell population for developing cell therapy approaches for muscle loss associated with degenerative diseases, trauma, and aging. Before any cell therapy can be incorporated into clinical practice it will be necessary to characterize the genetic and biochemical basis for the regulation of their self-renewal and differentiation. This represents an important step for enhancing the self-renewal of engrafted cells, and thus their regenerative potential as therapies for myopathies.

Current Laboratory Projects:
1) Examine the role of the protein Numb in regulating the switch between proliferation and differentiation of myogenic progenitor cells.

2) Investigate the role of Mohawk, a novel homeodomain transcription factor, in the regulation of myogenic progenitor cells.

3) Examine the role of the Hox 3 genes in controlling the initiation of muscle differentiation and instruct the cells with their identity along the anterior/posterior axis.

Selected Publications

Takahashi, Y., Takagi, A., Hiraoka, S., Koseki, H., Kanno, J., Rawls, A., and Saga, Y. (2007). Transcription factors Mesp2 and Paraxis have critical roles in axial musculoskeletal formation. Dev Dyn 236, 1484-1494.

Anderson, D., Arredondo, J., Hahn, K., Valente, G., Martin, J., Wilson-Rawls, J., and Rawls, A. Mohawk is a Novel Homeobox Gene Expressed in the Developing Mouse Embryo. Dev Dyn 235, 792-801.

Nakaya, M., Biris, K., Tsukiyama, T., Jaime, S., Rawls, A., and Yamaguchi, T.P. (2005). Wnt3a Links Left-Right Determination with Segmentation and Anterior-Posterior Axis Elongation. Development 132, 5425-5436

Linker C, Lesbros C, Gros J, Burrus LW, Rawls A, and Marcelle C. (2005). beta-Catenin-dependent Wnt signalling controls the epithelial organisation of somites through the activation of paraxis. Development 132, 3895-905.

Wilson-Rawls, J., Rhee, J.M., and Rawls, A. (2004). Paraxis is a bHLH protein that positively regulates transcription through binding to specific E-box elements. J. Biol Chem 279, 37685-37692.

Rhee, J.M., Takahashi, Y., Saga, Y., Wilson-Rawls, J., and Rawls, A. (2003). The protocadherin papc is required for epithelialization along the segmental border during mouse somitogenesis. Dev Biol 254, 248-261.

Rawls, A., Wilson-Rawls, J., McGaughey, R.W. (2001) Genes, signaling, and the regulation of mammalian oocyte maturation. Front Biosci. 6, D1173-85.

Johnson, J., McGaughey, R.W., Rawls, A., Wilson-Rawls, J. (2001) Notch pathway genes are expressed in developing mammalian ovarian follicles. Mech Dev 109, 353-359.

Johnson, J., Parsons, S.M., Brown, D, Olson, E.N., Rawls, A. (2001) The Anterior/Posterior Polarity of Somites is Disrupted in Paraxis-Deficient Mice. Dev Biol. 229, 176-187.

Rawls, A., Wilson-Rawls, N.J., Olson, E.N. (2000). Genetic Regulation of Somite Formation. Curr Top Dev Biol 47,131-154.

Wilson-Rawls, J., Hurt, C.R., Parsons, S.M., Rawls, A. (1999). Differential Regulation of Epaxial and Hypaxial Muscle Development by Paraxis. Development 126, 5217-5229.