The Yingbin Fu Laboratory
Yingbin Fu, Ph. D.
Assistant Professor, Dept of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences
Other Academic Appointments:
Assistant Professor, Neurobiology & Anatomy and
Assistant Professor, Neurosciences Program
Assistant Professor, Molecular Biology
Investigator, Moran Center for Translational Medicine
Lab Address:
65 Mario Capecchi Drive
JMEC S5867
University of Utah
Salt Lake City, UT 84132
Contact:
801-213-3436 (office)
801-213-2738 (lab)
801-587-8314 (fax)
Email: yingbin.fu@hsc.utah.edu
Dr. Fu received his B.S in Biochemistry at Peking University, Beijing, China. He received his Ph.D. in Biochemistry at Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, where he was a member of the Honor Society for International Scholars. Prior to coming to the Moran Eye Center, Dr. Fu worked as a postdoc fellow at Dr. King-Wai Yau's lab at The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Image-forming vision in vertebrates is mediated by retinal rods and cones. We primarily depend on our cones for functional vision such as reading and driving. Despite the importance of cones, relatively little is known about the cone phototransduction compared with the rod pathway. The first objective of the Fu lab is to use various animal models to dissect systematically how the different phototransduction proteins contribute to the unique properties of cone physiology such as low sensitivity, fast response kinetics, and great light adaptation ability. This is an interesting area because vertebrate phototransduction has long been served as a model system for studying heterotrimeric G protein mediated signaling pathways, which is critical in signaling processes in essentially all eukaryotic cells. In addition, vision is a good area to study the interface between cell physiology and human psychophysics (i.e. perception)/system neuroscience - the goal of modern neuroscience after all!
Recently, photoreceptors have increasingly become an attractive model for studying neuronal cell biology (e.g. intracellular trafficking, assembly and targeting of protein complexes) due to their highly polarized structure and enormous biosynthesis requirement. However, little is known about the assembly and trafficking of photoreceptor proteins. The second objective is to understand the mechanisms governing the assembly/trafficking of key photoreceptor proteins and its role in photoreceptor survival.
The third objective is to perform functional characterization on genetic variants that are associated with age-related macular degeneration (AMD), which is among the most common causes of blindness, particularly irreversible blindness, in the world. We are witnessing a new era by researchers in identifying genetic variants associated with many complex diseases. However, although thousands of gene associations have been published, few have been unequivocally confirmed. It is more important than ever to validate the role of these variants through functional characterization with animal models. We are taking advantage of the genetic power of the mouse model for this study. In fact, we have generated several exciting AMD models and are in the process of characterizing them. This is a good opportunity for students to get involved in both basic (regarding the AMD causing mechanism) and translational (designing new therapeutic treatment) research.
Students are expected to learn a variety of techniques in modern neuroscience research including genetics, electrophysiology, biochemistry, cell biology, advanced in vivo and in vitro imaging, and animal behavior.
Selected Publications
Jones A, Kumar S, Zhang N, Tong Z, Yang J-H, Watt C, Anderson J, Fnu A, Fillerup H, Mccloskey M, Luo L, Yang Z, Ambati B, Marc R, Oka C, Zhang K, and Fu Y (2011). Increased expression of multifunctional serine protease, HTRA1, in retinal pigment epithelium induces polypoidal choroidal vasculopathy in mice. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. Aug 15. [Epub ahead of print].
Zhang T, Zhang N, Baehr W, Fu Y (2011). Cone opsin determines the time course of cone photoreceptor degeneration in Leber congenital amaurosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A.
Fu, Y. (2010) Phototransduction: Phototransduction in Rods. In Encyclopedia of the Eye. Edited by Besharse, J., Dana, R. & Dartt, D. A. Elsevier Academic Press. Volume 3, pp. 397-402.
Yang Z, Tong Z, Chen Y, Zeng J, Sun X, Zhao C, Davey L, Wang K, Chen H, London N, Muramatsu D, Salasar F, Kasuga D, Wang X, Dixie M, Zhao P, Yang R, Gibbs D, Lu F, Liu X, Li Y, Li B, Li C, Li Y, Campochiaro B, Constantine R, Zack D, Campochiaro P, Fu Y, Li D, Katsanis N, and Zhang K. (2010). Genetic and functional dissection of HTRA1 and LOC387715 in age-related macular degeneration. PLoS Genet 6, e1000836.
Fu, Y, Kefalov, V, Luo, DG, Xie, T, Yau, KW. (2008) Quantal noise from human red cone pigment. Nature Neuroscience. 11: 565-571
Fu, Y. and Yau, K. W. (2007) Phototransduction in mouse rods and cones. Pflugers Arch. - Eur J of Physiol. 454:805-819.
Imai, H., Kefalov, V., Sakurai, K., Chisaka, O., Ueda, Y., Onishi, A., Morizumi, T., Fu, Y., Ichikawa, K., Nakatani, K., et al. (2007). Molecular properties of rhodopsin and rod function. J Biol Chem. 282:6677-6684.
Fu, Y., Zhong, H., Wang, M. H., Luo, D. G., Liao, H. W., Maeda, H., Hattar, S., Frishman, L. J., Yau, K. W. (2005) Intrinsically photosensitive retinal ganglion cells detect light with a vitamin A-based photopigment, melanopsin. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 102(29):10339-10244.
Fu, Y., Liao, H. W., Do, M. T., Yau, K. W. (2005) Non-image-forming ocular photoreception in vertebrates. Curr Opin Neurobiol. 15(4):415-22.
Kefalov, V.*, Fu, Y.*, Marsh-Armstrong, N., Yau, K.W. (2003) Role of visual pigment properties in rod and cone phototransduction. Nature. 425:526-531. *Equal contribution co-first authors.