Zhenhua Liu
B.S., Hunan Agricultural University, Hunan, P.R.C.; M.S., China Agricultural University, Beijing, P.R.C.; M.S., Auburn University; Ph.D., Auburn University; Postdoctoral, Tufts-New England Medical Center and Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University
Nutrition, Epigenetics, Inflammation, Cancer
Diet and lifestyle are modifiable factors which play a prominent role in public health. My laboratory investigates how those factors and their metabolically-related gene variants interact to mediate the development of chronic diseases. Particularly, my research field centralizes on the nutritional modulation of the Wnt-signaling pathway as it tightly relates to many chronic diseases including cancer and obesity-associated complications. My laboratory uses cell culture and animal models, biochemical & molecular techniques, as well as systems biology approaches to understand the etiology of human chronic diseases. The ultimate goal of my research is to integrate our biological findings with dietary and lifestyle strategies to diminish the burden of chronic diseases in our society.
Liu, Z., Brooks, R. S., Ciappio, E. D., Bennett, G., Crott, J. W., Mason, J. B. TNF-α induced alterations in the Wnt signaling cascade: a potential mechanism for obesity-associated colorectal tumorigenesis. Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry. 23: 1207-13.
Protiva, P., Mason, J. B., Liu, Z., Hopkins, M. E., Nelson, C., Marshall, J. R., Lambrecht, R. W., Pendyala, S., Kopelovich, L., Kim, M., Kleinstein, S. H., Laird, P. W., Lipkin, M., Holt, P. R. 2011. Altered Folate Availability Modifies the Molecular Environment of the Human Colorectum: Implications for Colorectal Carcinogenesis. Cancer Prevention Research. 4:530-43. PMID:21321062
Liu, Z., Ciappio, E. D., Crott, J. W., Brook, R. S., Mason, J. B. 2011. Mild inadequacy in multiple one-carbon vitamins elevates Wnt-signaling and promotes intestinal tumorigenesis in the BAT-LacZ×Apc1638N mouse model. FASEB Journal. 25:3136-3145. PMCID: PMC3157689
Flood, A., Mason, J. B., Liu, Z., Cash, B. D., Schatzkin, A., Schoenfeld, P. S., Cross, A. J. 2011. Concentration of folate in colorectal tissue biopsies predicts prevalence of adenomatous polyps. Gut, 60:66-72. PMID: 21068136.
Liu, Z., Choi, S. W., Crott, J. W., Keyes, M. K., Jang, H., Smith, D. E., Kim, M. Laird, P. W., Bronson, R., Mason, J. B. 2007. Mild depletion of dietary folate combined with other B-vitamins alters multiple components of the Wnt pathway in the mouse colon. Journal of Nutrition, 137: 2701-2708.
