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| FACULTY BIOGRAPHY |
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| Liang Tong |
| Professor
Co-Director of Graduate Studies |
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| Please see my Research Summary for more detailed information on materials discussed here.
A major focus of our current research is on enzymes that are involved in fatty acid metabolism. These include acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (ACC), carnitine acyltransferase,AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK)and others. These enzymes are important targets for drug discovery against obesity, diabetes and other human diseases. The goals of our research are to produce structural information on these enzymes and to understand their functions at the molecular level. The structural information will also lay the foundation for drug discovery against these targets.
Another area of our research is on proteins involved in pre-mRNA 3'-end processing. Most eukaryotic mRNA precursors must undergo cleavage and polyadenylation in their 3'-ends before they can function as mRNAs.This processing machinery contains more than 16 protein factors,which form several sub-complexes (CPSF, CstF). The goal of our research is to understand the molecular basis of this important event.We will produce crystal structures of the protein subunits, protein-protein complexes, and protein-RNA complexes,and carry out functional studies to assess the structural information.
In addition, I will continue my interest in the development of new techniques and computer programs for macromolecular crystallography.
MedLine Listing of Dr. Tong's Publications
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Representative Recent Publications
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- Y. Bai, T.C. Auperin, C.-Y. Chou, G.-G. Chang, J.L. Manley & L. Tong (2007) Crystal structure of murine CstF-77: Dimeric association and implications for polyadenylation of mRNA precursors Mol. Cell 25: 863-875.
- C. Mandel, S. Kaneko, H. Zhang, D. Gebauer, V. Vethantham, J.L. Manley & L. Tong (2006) Polyadenylation factor CPSF-73 is the pre-mRNA 3'-end processing endonuclease Nature 444: 953-956.
- Y. Shen, C.-Y. Chou, G.-G. Chang & L. Tong (2006) Is dimerization required for the catalytic activity of bacterial biotin carboxylase? Mol. Cell 22: 807-818.
- J.A. Khan, X. Tao & L. Tong (2006) Molecular basis for the inhibition of human NMPRTase, a novel target for anticancer agents Nature Struct. Mol. Biol 13: 582-588.
- Y. Shen, S.L. Volrath, S.C. Weatherly, T.D. Elich & L. Tong (2004) A mechanism for the potent inhibition of eukaryotic acetyl coenzyme A carboxylase by soraphen A, a macrocyclic polyketide natural product Mol. Cell 16: 881-891.
- Zhang H, Yang Z, Shen Y, L. Tong (2003) Crystal structure of the carboxyltransferase domain of acetyl-coenzyme A carboxylase Science 299(5615): 2064-7.
- Jogl G, L. Tong (2003) Crystal structure of carnitine acetyltransferase and implications for the catalytic mechanism and fatty acid transport Cell. 112(1): 113-22.
- Y. Xu, X. Tao, B. Shen, T. Horng, R. Medzhitov, J.L. Manley, L. Tong (2000) Structural basis for signal transduction by the Toll/interleukin-1 receptor domains Nature 408: 111-115.
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