| Send E-mail to: maxson@usc.edu | |
| Telephone: 323-865-0633 | Fax: 323-865-0098 |
| Office: NOR 7310 | Mail Code: 9176 HSC |
Education:
AB 1973 Zoology - University of California, Berkeley
PhD 1978 Cell & Dev. Biology - University of California, Berkeley
Postdoctoral Research Fellowship:
1981 Stanford University, California
Started at USC: 1983
Research Topics: Developmental Biology, Cancer Cell Biology, Cardiovascular & Skeletal Muscle Diseases, Evolutionary Biology
Research Description
The Maxson laboratory focuses on the molecular genetic basis of inductive signaling in embryonic development. Growth factors regulate developmental processes by modulating intracellular signaling cascades, which control the activity of transcription factors. We work on a class of transcription factors, designated Msx, that serve to coordinate signaling by members of the TGF-beta, hedgehog, and STAT pathways. Msx genes encode homeodomain proteins that bind DNA and regulate transcription. We have shown that a mutation in the human Msx2 gene is responsible for a birth defect that affects the shape of the skull. We have also used transgenic and knockout technology to investigate the function of Msx2 in the mouse.
These studies have demonstrated that Msx2 has a role in inductive interactions that are critical for the development of the skull, eye, ear, and neural tube, andhave also implicated Msx2 in the pathogenesis of Waardenburg's syndrome, which affects neural crest migration. Current areas of research in the laboratory include (i) the identification of upstream regulators and downstream targets of Msx2; (ii) characterization of an Msx2 interacting protein that can regulate the transcriptional activity of Msx2 in response to specific growth factors; (iii) analysis of the mechanism by which signals from TGF-beta superfamily ligands regulate the transcription of Msx2; (iv) further characterization of the role Msx2 in human disorders of skull patterning and neural crest development.
Selected Publications
Maxson R, Ishii M. - The bmp pathway in skull vault development. - Front Oral Biol [ 2008 ] 12:197-208 . PubMed
Plikus MV, Mayer JA, de la Cruz D, Baker RE, Maini PK, Maxson R, Chuong CM. - Cyclic dermal BMP signalling regulates stem cell activation during hair regeneration. - Nature [ 2008 ] Jan 17;451(7176):340-4 . PubMed
Han J, Ishii M, Bringas P Jr, Maas RL, Maxson RE Jr, Chai Y. - Concerted action of Msx1 and Msx2 in regulating cranial neural crest cell differentiation during frontal bone development. - Mech Dev [ 2007 ] Sep-Oct;124(9-10):729-45 . PubMed
Fu H, Ishii M, Gu Y, Maxson R. - Conditional alleles of Msx1 and Msx2. - Genesis [ 2007 ] Aug;45(8):477-81 . PubMed
Chen YH, Ishii M, Sun J, Sucov HM, Maxson RE Jr. - Msx1 and Msx2 regulate survival of secondary heart field precursors and post-migratory proliferation of cardiac neural crest in the outflow tract. - Dev Biol [ 2007 ] Aug 15;308(2):421-37 . PubMed
Chai Y, Maxson RE Jr. - Recent advances in craniofacial morphogenesis. - Dev Dyn [ 2006 ] Sep;235(9):2353-75 . PubMed
Merrill AE, Bochukova EG, Brugger SM, Ishii M, Pilz DT, Wall SA, Lyons KM, Wilkie AO, Maxson RE Jr. - Cell mixing at a neural crest-mesoderm boundary and deficient ephrin-Eph signaling in the pathogenesis of craniosynostosis. - Hum Mol Genet [ 2006 ] Apr 15;15(8):1319-28 . PubMed
Ishii M, Han J, Yen HY, Sucov HM, Chai Y, Maxson RE Jr. - Combined deficiencies of Msx1 and Msx2 cause impaired patterning and survival of the cranial neural crest. - Development [ 2005 ] Nov;132(22):4937-50 . PubMed
Maxson R. - Adaptation: a developmental biologist in the Antarctic. - Genesis [ 2005 ] Jul;42(3):117-23 . PubMed
Liu W, Selever J, Murali D, Sun X, Brugger SM, Ma L, Schwartz RJ, Maxson R, Furuta Y, Martin JF. - Threshold-specific requirements for Bmp4 in mandibular development. - Dev Biol [ 2005 ] Jul 15;283(2):282-93 . PubMed
