PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Aaron W. Bell, Ph.D. - Assistant Professor of Pathology Office: S453 BST. 200 Lothrop St Pittsburgh, PA 15261 Email: bellaaro@pitt.edu Tel: 412-383-8922 Fax: 412-648-1916    RESEARCH: Dr. Bell's research interest lie in understanding the role of transcription factors in control and regulation of liver growth, regeneration and differentiation. His studies focus on how growth factors, extra-cellular matrix, or chemicals alter the transcriptional program and affect cellular differentiation and fate. Of particular interest are the liver-enriched transcription factors especially Hepatic Nuclear Factor-4, a key liver transcription factor required for liver development and function. ONLINE RESOURCES: Dr. Bell's CV Dr. Bell's NIH BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH MEMBERS: John Stoops Lab Technician/Manager PUBLICATIONS: Kolher, C, Bell, AW, Bowen, WC, Monga, SP, Michalopoulos, GK. Expression of Notch-1 and its ligand Jagged-1 in rat liver during liver regeneration. Hepatology 39(4), 1056-65 2004. Bell, A. W. and Michalopoulos, G. K. Phenobarbital Induces Expression of HNF4 and Hepatic Differentiation Markers via a CAR independent Mechanism. (2004) Wang X, DeFrances MC, Dai Y, Pediaditakis P, Johnson C, Bell A, Michalopoulos GK, Zarnegar R. A mechanism of cell survival: sequestration of Fas by the HGF receptor Met. Mol Cell. Feb;9(2):411-21 (2002). Monga SP, Mars WM, Pediaditakis P, Bell A, Mule K, Bowen WC, Wang X, Zarnegar R, Michalopoulos GK. Hepatocyte Growth Factor Induces Wnt-independent Nuclear Translocation of beta-Catenin after Met-beta-Catenin Dissociation in Hepatocytes. Cancer Res. ;62(7):2064-71 (2002). Bell, A. W., Chen, Q., DeFrances, M. C., Michalopolous, G. K., Zarnegar, R. The five amino acid-deleted isoform of hepatocyte growth factor promotes carcinogenesis in transgenic mice. Oncogene 18, 887-895 (1999). Tan X, Apte U, Micsenyi A, Kotsagrelos E, Luo JH, Ranganathan S, Monga DK, Bell A, Michalopoulos GK, Monga SP. Epidermal growth factor receptor: a novel target of the Wnt/beta-catenin pathway in liver. Gastroenterology. 2005 Jul;129(1):285-302 PMID: 16012954 Monga SP, Micsenyi A, Germinaro M, Apte U, Bell A. beta-Catenin regulation during matrigel- induced rat hepatocyte differentiation. Cell Tissue Res. ; 323(1): 71-9, 2006 PMID: 16160859 Bell, A. W. and Michalopoulos, G. K. Phenobarbital Induces Nuclear Expression of HNF4 in mouse and rat hepatocytes independent of CAR and PXR. Hepatology. Jul;44(1):186-94 2006. PMID: 16799975 Gang Zeng, Matt Germinaro, Amanda Micsenyi, Navjot K. Monga, Aaron Bell, Ajit Sood, Vanita Malhotra, Neena Sood, Vandana Midda, Dulabh K. Monga, Demetrius M. Kokkinakis, Satdarshan P.S. Monga. Aberrant Wnt/Beta-Catenin Signaling In Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma. Neoplasia. 2006 Apr;8(4):279-89. PMID: 16756720 Zeng G, Apte U, Micsenyi A, Bell A, Monga SP.Tyrosine residues 654 and 670 in beta-catenin are crucial in regulation of Met-beta-catenin interactions. Exp Cell Res. 2006 Nov 1;312(18):3620-30. Epub 2006 Aug 10. PMID: 16952352 Zhu Z, He X, Johnson C, Stoops J, Eaker AE, Stoffer DS, Bell A, Zarnegar R, Defrances MC. PI3K is negatively regulated by PIK3IP1, a novel p110 interacting protein. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2007 Jun 22;358(1):66-72. Epub 2007 Apr 24. PMID: 17475214 Paranjpe S, Bowen WC, Bell AW, Nejak-Bowen K, Luo JH, Michalopoulos GK. Cell cycle effects resulting from inhibition of hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor c-Met in regenerating rat livers by RNA interference. Hepatology 45(6):1471-1477 2007; PMID: 17427161