Update Your ProfileAcademic Title:
Assistant Professor
Primary Appointment:
Pharmacology & Physiology
Email:
Location:
BioMET 307B
Phone (Primary):
(410) 706-4516
Fax:
(410) 706-8184
Education and Training
B.A. Biochemistry, Rutgers College, New Brunswick, NJ.
Ph.D. Biochemistry, Robert Woods Johnson Medical School and Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ.
Postdoctoral fellow, Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute, La Jolla, CA.
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Biology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD.
Biosketch
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is a common human disease that is characterized by progressive degeneration of sensory neurons, called photoreceptors, in the retina. Currently, we are studying how interactions between complement factor H (a secreted protein that is frequently mutated in AMD patients), transmembrane, and cytoskeletal proteins affect sensory neuron function in C. elegans, asking whether these interactions are conserved in vertebrate photoreceptors, and exploring the implications of our findings in patients that are at high risk for AMD.
Highlighted Publications
Acker N, Smith H, Devine C, Oltjen SL, Tsiropoulou S, Smit-McBride Z, Lange K, Blacque OE, Matsubara JA, Gordus A, Golden A, Vogel BE (2021) A complement factor H homolog, heparan sulfation,and syndecan maintain inversin compartment boundaries in C. elegans cilia Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 118:e2016698118. doi: 10.1073/pnas.2016698118.PMID: 33859044
Muriel JM, Dong C, Vogel BE. (2012) Distinct regions within fibulin-1D modulate interactions with hemicentin. Exp Cell Res. 2012 Dec 10; 318: 2543-7. doi: 10.1016/j.yexcr.2012.08.007.
Xu X and Vogel BE. (2011) A secreted protein promotes cleavage furrow maturation during cytokinesis. Curr Biol. 21:114-9. PMCID: PMC3046554
Vogel BE, Wagner C, Paterson JM, Xu X, Yanowitz JL. (2011) An extracellular matrix protein prevents cytokinesis failure and aneuploidy in the C. elegans germline. Cell Cycle. Jun 15;10(12):1916-20. Epub 2011 Jun 15. PMCID: PMC3154414
Xu X, Vogel BE. (2011) A new job for ancient extracellular matrix proteins: Hemicentins stabilize cleavage furrows. Commun Integr Biol. Jul; 4(4):433-5. doi: 10.4161/cib.4.4.15324. Epub 2011 Jul 1. PMCID: PMC3181513
Xu X, Dong C, Vogel BE. (2007) Hemicentins assemble on diverse epithelia in the mouse. J Histochem Cytochem. 55:119-26.
Dong, C, Muriel, JM, Ramirez, S, Hutter, H, Hedgecock, EM, Breydo, L, Baskakov, IV and Vogel, BE (2006) Hemicentin assembly in the extracellular matrix is mediated by distinct structural modules. J. Biol. Chem. 281:23606-23610.
Muriel, JM, Xu, X and Vogel, BE. (2006) Selective assembly of fibulin-1 splice variants reveals distinct extracellular matrix networks and novel functions for Perlecan/UNC-52 splice variants. Dev. Dyn. 235:2632-40.
Vogel BE, Muriel JM, Dong C, Xu X. (2006) Hemicentins: what have we learned from worms? Cell Res. 16:872-8.
Muriel, JM, Dong, C, Hutter, H and Vogel, BE. (2005) Fibulin-1C and Fibulin-1D splice variants have distinct functions in C. elegans development and assemble in a hemicentin dependent manner. Development 132:4223-4234.
Vogel, BE and Hedgecock, EM. (2001) Hemicentin, a conserved extracellular member of the immunoglobulin superfamily, organizes epithelial and other cell attachments into oriented line-shaped junctions. Development 128:883-894.
Additional Publication Citations
Zhong Y, Wang J, Henderson MJ, Yang P, Hagen BM, Siddique T, Vogel BE, Deng HX, Fang S. (2017) Nuclear export of misfolded SOD1 mediated by a normally buried NES-like sequence reduces proteotoxicity in the nucleus. Elife. 2;6. pii: e23759. doi: 10.7554/eLife.23759. PMCID: PMC5449186
Research Interests
Research Specialties: Extracellular matrix, Sensory neuron cell architecture and function
Where is complement factor H (CFH) found in C. elegans?
Age-related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of blindness among the elderly in the developed world. However the mechanism of AMD pathogenesis is poorly understood. Mutations in CFH increase risk for AMD 6-20 fold. The canonical function of CFH is to inhibit inflammation and cytolysis caused by activation of the alternative complement pathway of the innate immune system. Current disease models suggest that the disease mechanism is likely a result of an increase in inflammation in the retina. However our findings suggest a direct role for CFH in sensory neuron function. Using CRISPR-Cas9, we have constructed a functional fusion between CFH and green fluorescent protein (GFP), enabling us to monitor CFH-GFP localization in live animals during development. CFH-GFP accumulates at the ciliated tips of sensory neurons involved in mechanosensation. Based on this and other data (see Acker et al., 2021), we believe that AMD may result directly from a defect in sensory neuron (i.e. photoreceptor)structure and function.
Our current focus is on using molecular, genetic and biochemical tools to identify the functional significance of CFH on sensory neuron cell surfaces and to identify cell surface receptors and other extracellular proteins that functionally interact with CFH.
The long-term goal is to understand the mechanism of AMD pathogenesis and to develop therapies to inhibit this mechanism.
Grants and Contracts
7/01/21-6/30/26 (P.I. Bruce E. Vogel, 30% effort)
“Molecular genetics of a complement factor H homolog”
National Institutes of Health, NIH R01EY032868
In the News
New Mechanism Identified Behind Blindness in Older Adults, University of Maryland School of Medicine Study Suggests
Findings in Worms Suggest Structural Integrity of the Eye’s Light-Sensing Cells Important for Age-Related Macular Degeneration
https://www.newswise.com/articles/new-mechanism-identified-behind-blindness-in-older-adults-university-of-maryland-school-of-medicine-study-suggests