Hong Jun Wang, Ph.D., Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation, NIAMS

Contact Information

9000 Rockville Pike

50 South Drive

Building 50, Room 1349

Bethesda MD 20892

Summary

Hong Jun Wang received her Ph.D. from McGill University, Canada, where she studied the function and regulation of a new histone deacetylase 4 (HDAC4). Dr. Wang started her postdoctoral training with Dr. Rik Derynck at UCSF, studying histone modification in TGF-beta/SMAD3 repressed muscle differentiation. She also studied the regulation of TGF-beta and BMP signaling pathways by protein arginine methylation of SMAD6. Dr. Wang continued her postdoctoral research with Dr. Vittorio Sartorelli at the NIAMS, focusing on transcriptional regulation of skeletal muscle differentiation and embryonic stem cell pluripotency and self-renewal. In 2016, she moved to the NIDCD as a contractor working on restoring genetic hearing loss by AAV-delivered CRISPR/Cas9 system. Dr. Wang returned to the NIAMS in 2020, and currently works with Dr. Sartorelli as a biologist in the Laboratory of Muscle Stem Cells and Gene Regulation.

Research Statement

Dr. Wang’s research focuses on the role of histone methyltransferase Ezh1 in skeletal muscle differentiation, regeneration of adult skeletal muscle, and metabolic regulation of epigenetics.

Scientific Publications

The Elongation Factor Spt6 Maintains ESC Pluripotency by Controlling Super-Enhancers and Counteracting Polycomb Proteins.

Wang AH, Juan AH, Ko KD, Tsai PF, Zare H, Dell'Orso S, Sartorelli V

Mol Cell.

2017 Oct 19;

68(2).

doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2017.09.016

PMID: 29033324

The Histone Variant MacroH2A1.2 Is Necessary for the Activation of Muscle Enhancers and Recruitment of the Transcription Factor Pbx1.

Dell'Orso S, Wang AH, Shih HY, Saso K, Berghella L, Gutierrez-Cruz G, Ladurner AG, O'Shea JJ, Sartorelli V, Zare H

Cell Rep.

2016 Feb 9;

14(5).

doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2015.12.103

PMID: 26832413

Arginine Methylation Initiates BMP-Induced Smad Signaling.

Xu J, Wang AH, Oses-Prieto J, Makhijani K, Katsuno Y, Pei M, Yan L, Zheng YG, Burlingame A, Brückner K, Derynck R

Mol Cell.

2013 Jul 11;

51(1).

doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2013.05.004

PMID: 23747011

The histone chaperone Spt6 coordinates histone H3K27 demethylation and myogenesis.

Wang AH, Zare H, Mousavi K, Wang C, Moravec CE, Sirotkin HI, Ge K, Gutierrez-Cruz G, Sartorelli V

EMBO J.

2013 Apr 17;

32(8).

doi: 10.1038/emboj.2013.54

PMID: 23503590

Polycomb protein Ezh1 promotes RNA polymerase II elongation.

Mousavi K, Zare H, Wang AH, Sartorelli V

Mol Cell.

2012 Jan 27;

45(2).

doi: 10.1016/j.molcel.2011.11.019

PMID: 22196887

Education

McGill University
Ph.D., Experimental Medicine (2003)

Hunan Medical University
M.D. (1990)

Experience

Scientist (contractor)
NIDCD (2016-2020)

Research Fellow
NIAMS (2013-2016)

Postdoctoral Fellowship
NIAMS (2008-2013)