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Zena Werb, PhD

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
werb_zena

Professor and Vice-Chair, Department of Anatomy, UCSF
Co-Leader, Cancer, Immunity, and Microenvironment Program, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

zena.werb@ucsf.edu

Phone: (415) 476-4622, (415) 476-4758, (415) 476-4564 (voice)
Box 0452, UCSF
San Francisco, CA 94143-0452


Additional Websites


Education

University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada, B.Sc., 1966, Biochemistry
Rockefeller University, New York, NY, Ph.D., 1971, Cell Biology
Strangeways Research. Laboratory, Cambridge, U.K., Postdoc., 1971-73, Protein Chemistry


Professional Experience

  • 1973-1975
    Research Scientist, Strangeways Res. Lab., Cambridge, U.K.
  • 1975-1976
    Visiting Assistant Professor of Medicine, Dartmouth Medical School, Hanover, NH
  • 1976-1980
    Asst. Professor of Radiobiology, Radiology, Univ. of California, San Francisco
  • 1979-1980
    Asst. Professor of Anatomy, UCSF
  • 1980-1983
    Assoc. Professor of Anatomy and Radiology, UCSF
  • 1983-present
    Professor of Anatomy, UCSF
  • 1985-1986
    Visiting Prof. (Lab. of N.J. Proudfoot), Sir William Dunn School of Pathology, Univ. of Oxford, U.K.
  • 1998
    Visiting Professor, Institut Curie Paris
  • 1999-present
    Vice-chair, Dept of Anatomy, UCSF
  • 2006-2007
    Visiting Professor, Max-Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany

Honors & Awards

  • 1971-1973
    Fellow, Medical Research Council of Canada
  • 1982
    R.R. Bensley Memorial Lecturer of the American Association of Anatomists
  • 1985-1986
    Fellow, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation
  • 1986
    Muriel Trotter Lecturer, Washington University, St. Louis
  • 1993-1994
    Sigma Xi National Lecturer
  • 1996
    FASEB Excellence in Science Award
  • 1997
    Chitra Biswas Memorial Lecturer, Tufts Medical School
  • 1998
    Rothschild/Mayent Fellowship, Institut Curie, Paris
  • 1998
    Earl Benditt Distinguished Lecturer, University of Washington
  • 1999
    J.L. Melnick Lecturer, Baylor College of Medicine
  • 1999
    Biosciences Distinguished Lecturer, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
  • 2000
    Gwendolyn J. Stewart Award, Temple University
  • 2001
    Charlotte Friend Lecturer, AACR
  • 2001
    44th Faculty Research Lecturer, UCSF
  • 2001
    H.B. Parker Lecture, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • 2002
    Elected Member, Institute of Medicine
  • 2003
    Elected Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • 2003
    Doctor of Medicine (honoris causa), University of Copenhagen
  • 2004
    Schlessinger Lecture, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School
  • 2004
    A. S. Wiener Lecture, New York Blood Center
  • 2005
    Maud L. Menten Lecturer, University of Pittsburgh
  • 2006
    Alexander von Humboldt Research Award

Selected Publications

  • Werb, Z., P.M. Tremble, O. Behrendtsen, E. Crowley & C.H. Damsky (1989). Signal transduction through the fibronectin receptor induces metalloproteinase gene expression. J. Cell Biol. 109: 877-889. PMID: 2547805
  • Sympson, C.J., R.S. Talhouk, et al. (1994). Targeted expression of stromelysin-1 in mammary gland provides evidence for a role of proteinases in branching morphogenesis and the requirement for an intact basement membrane for tissue-specific gene expression. J. Cell Biol. 125: 681-693. PMID: 8175886
  • Vu, T. H., J. M. Shipley, et al. (1998). MMP-9/gelatinase B is a key regulator of growth plate angiogenesis and apoptosis of hypertrophic chondrocytes. Cell. 93:411-422. PMID: 9590175
  • Sternlicht, M. D., A. Lochter, et al. (1999). The stromal proteinase MMP-3/stromelysin-1 promotes mammary carcinogenesis. Cell. 98: 137-146. PMID: 10428026
  • Bergers, G., R. Brekken, et al. (2000). Matrix metalloproteinase-9 triggers the angiogenic switch during carcinogenesis. Nature Cell Biol. 2: 737-744. PMID: 11025665
  • Coussens, L. M., C. L. Tinkle, D. Hanahan & Z. Werb (2000). MMP-9 supplied by bone marrow-derived cells regulates skin carcinogenesis. Cell. 103: 481-490. PMID: 11081634
  • Coussens, L. M. & Z. Werb (2002). Inflammation and cancer. Nature 420:860-867. PMID: 12490959
  • Egeblad, M. & Z. Werb (2002). New functions for the matrix metalloproteinases in cancer progression. Nature Rev. Cancer 2: 163-176. PMID: 11990853
  • Heissig, B., K. Hattori, et al. (2002). Mobilization of stem cells from the bone marrow niche requires MMP-9-mediated release of Kit ligand. Cell. 109: 625-637. PMID: 12062105
  • Weaver, V. M., S. Lelievre, et al. (2002). beta4 Integrin-dependent formation of polarized three-dimensional architecture confers resistance to apoptosis in normal and malignant mammary epithelium. Cancer Cell. 2: 205-216. PMID: 12242153
  • Wiseman, B. & Z. Werb (2002). Stromal effects on mammary gland development and breast cancer. Science. 296:1046-1049. PMID: 12004111
  • Yan, Y., K. Shirakabe & Z. Werb (2002). The metalloprotease Kuzbanian (ADAM10) mediates the transactivation of EGF receptor by G-protein coupled receptors.J. Cell Biol. 158:221-226.PMID: 12119356
  • Colnot, C., Z. Thompson, T. Miclau, Z. Werb & J. A. Helms (2003). Altered bone regeneration in the absence of MMP9. Development. 130: 4123-4133. PMID: 12874132
  • Hamano, H., M. Zeisberg, et al. (2003). Physiological levels of tumstatin, a fragment of collagen IV alpha3 chain, are generated by MMP-9 proteolysis and suppress angiogenesis via alphaV beta3 integrin. Cancer Cell. 3:589-601. PMID: 12842087
  • Li, Y., B. Welm, et al. (2003). Evidence that transgenes encoding components of the Wnt signaling pathway preferentially induce mammary cancers from progenitor cells. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 100: 15853-15858. PMID: 14668450
  • Parisi, T., A. R. Beck, et al. (2003). Cyclins E1 and E2 are required for endoreplication in placental trophoblast giant cells. EMBO J. 22: 4794-4803. PMID: 12970191
  • Wiseman, B.S., M. D. Sternlicht, et al. (2003). Site-specific positive and negative activities of MMP-2 and MMP-3 orchestrate mammary gland branching morphogenesis. J. Cell Biol. 162:1123-1133.PMID: 12975354
  • Chantrain, C. F., H. Shimada, et al. (2004). Stromal matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) regulates the vascular architecture in neuroblastoma by promoting pericyte recruitment. Cancer Res. 64: 1675-1686. PMID: 14996727
  • Cases, S., P. Zhou, et al. (2004). Development of the mammary gland requires DGAT1 expression in stromal and epithelial tissues. Development. 131: 3047-3055. PMID: 15163627
  • Stickens, D., D. J. Behonick, et al. (2004). Altered endochondral bone formation in matrix metalloproteinase-13 deficient mice. Development. 131: 5883-5895. PMID: 15539485
  • Atabai K., R. Fernandez, et al. (2005). Mfge8 is critical for mammary gland remodeling during involution. Mol. Biol. Cell. 16:5528-5537. PMID: 16195353
  • Carlson, T. R., Y. Yan, et al. (2005). Endothelial expression of constitutively active Notch4 elicits reversible arteriovenous malformations in adult mice. Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 102: 9884-9889. PMID: 15994223
  • Heissig, B., S. Rafii, et al. (2005). Low-dose irradiation promotes tissue revascularization through Kit-ligand mediated release of VEGF from mast cells and MMP-9 mediated mobilization of endothelial progenitors. J. Exp. Med. 202:739-750. PMID: 16157686
  • Littlepage, L.E., M. Egeblad & Z. Werb (2005). Coevolution of cancer and stromal cellular responses. Cancer Cell. 7:499-500. PMID: 15950897
  • Liu, Z., X. Zhou, L. A. Diaz, R. M. Senior & Z. Werb (2005). Synergy between a plasminogen cascade and MMP-9 in autoimmune disease. J. Clin. Invest. 115: 879-887. PMID: 15841177
  • Morimoto-Tomita, M., K. Uchimura, et al. (2005). Sulf-2, an extracellular heparan sulfate endosulfatase, is upregulated during breast cancer progression and is proangiogenic. Neoplasia. 7: 1001-1010. PMID: 16331886
  • Ortega, N., D. J. Behonick, C. Colnot, D. H. Cooper & Z. Werb (2005). Galectin-3 is a downstream regulator of MMP-9 function during endochondral bone formation. Mol. Biol. Cell. 16: 3028-3039. PMID: 15800063
  • Radisky, D. C., D. D. Levy, et al. (2005). Rac1b and reactive oxygen species mediate MMP-3-induced EMT and genomic instability. Nature. 436:123-127. PMID: 16001073
  • Song, S., A. J. Ewald, W. Stallcup, Z. Werb & G. Bergers (2005). PDGFR+ perivascular progenitor cells in tumours regulate pericyte differentiation and vascular survival. Nature Cell. Biol. 7: 870-879. PMID: 16113679
  • Sternlicht, M.D., S.W. Sunnarborg, H. Kouros-Mehr, Y. Yu, D. C. Lee & Z. Werb (2005). Mammary ductal morphogenesis requires paracrine activation of stromal EGFR via ADAM17-dependent shedding of epithelial amphiregulin. Development. 132:3923-3933. PMID: 16079154
  • Stickens, D., B. M. Zak, N. Rougier, J. D. Esko & Z. Werb (2005). Mice deficient in Ext2 lack heparan sulfate and develop exostoses. Development. 132:5055-5068. PMID: 16236767
  • Wall, S., E. Werner, Z. Werb & Y. A. DeClerck (2005). Discoidin domain receptor 2 mediates tumor cell cycle arrest induced by fibrillar collagen. J. Biol. Chem. 280:40187-4019. PMID: 16186104
  • Greenlee, K., D. B. Corry, et al. (2006). Proteomics identification of in vivo substrates for matrix metalloproteinases 2 and 9 reveals a mechanism for resolution of inflammation. J. Immunol. 177: 7312-7321. PMID: 17082650
  • Hsu, J.-Y. C., R. McKeon, et al. (2006). Matrix metalloproteinase-2 facilitates wound healing events that promote functional recovery after spinal cord injury. J. Neurosci. 26 :9841-9850. PMID: 17005848
  • Kouros-Mehr, H. & Z. Werb (2006). Candidate regulators of mammary branching morphogenesis identified by genome-wide transcript analysis. Dev. Dyn. Oct 12; [Epub ahead of print] PMID: 17039550
  • Kouros-Mehr, H., E. M. Slorach, M. D. Sternlicht & Z. Werb (2006). GATA-3 maintains the differentiation of the luminal cell fate in the mammary gland. Cell. In press.
  • Lum, D.H., J. Tan, S. D. Rosen & Z. Werb (2006). Gene trap disruption of the mouse heparan sulfate 6-O-endosulfatase, Sulf2. Mol. Cell. Biol. In press.
  • Lund, L.R., K. A. Green, et al. (2006). Plasminogen activation independent of uPA and tPA maintains skin wound healing in gene-deficient mice. EMBO J. 25:2686-2697. PMID: 16763560
  • Sternlicht, M.D., H. Kouros-Mehr, P. Lu & Z. Werb (2006). Hormonal and local control of mammary branching morphogenesis. Differentiation. 74:365-381. PMID: 16916375
  • Sternlicht, M. D., A. M. Dunning, et al. (2006). Prognostic value of PAI1 in invasive breast cancer: evidence that tumor-specific factors are more important than genetic variation in regulating PAI1 expression. Canc. Epidemiol. Biomarkers. Prev. In press.
  • Uchimura, K., M. Morimoto-Tomita, et al. (2006). HSulf-2, an extracellular endoglucosamine-6-sulfatase, selectively mobilizes heparin-bound growth factors and chemokines: effects on VEGF, FGF-1 and SDF-1. BMC Biochemistry. 7:2. PMID: 16417632
  • Zeisberg, M., M. Khurana, et al. (2006). Stage-specific action of matrix metalloproteinases influences progressive hereditary kidney disease. PLoS Med. 3:e100. PMID: 16509766