Professional Interests
MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a family of small nonprotein-coding RNAs that have emerged as important regulators in cardiac developmental and pathological processes. They are genomically encoded and are initially transcribed as part of much longer molecules that become processed into a mature ~22-nucleotide-long form. miRNAs are generally regarded as negative regulators of gene expression that inhibit translation and/or promote messenger RNA (mRNA) degradation by base-pairing to complementary sequences within protein-coding mRNA transcripts. Hundreds of human miRNA genes have been identified and bioinformatic analyses indicate that miRNAs might regulate the expression of more than a third of human protein-coding genes, highlighting the potential magnitude of their influence on gene expression. Given the increasingly important roles of miRNAs in heart development and function, the lab hypothesizes that aberrant regulation of miRNAs may play a role in mediating cardiovascular disease. Therefore, one major focus of Elton’s laboratory investigates miRNA expression and gene regulation in various cardiovascular diseases.
Recent Publications
- Patel, RB; Kotha, SR; Sauers, LA; Malireddy, S; Gurney, TO; Gupta, NN; Elton, TS; Magalang, UJ; Marsh, CB; Haley, BE; Parinandi, NL. Thiol-redox antioxidants protect against lung vascular endothelial cytoskeletal alterations caused by pulmonary fibrosis inducer, bleomycin: comparison between classical thiol-protectant, N-acetyl-L-cysteine, and novel thiol antioxidant, N,N'-bis-2-mercaptoethyl isophthalamide. Toxicology mechanisms and methods. 2012 Jun;22(5):383-96
- Belevych, AE; Sansom, SE; Terentyeva, R; Ho, HT; Nishijima, Y; Martin, MM; Jindal, HK; Rochira, JA; Kunitomo, Y; Abdellatif, M; Carnes, CA; Elton, TS; Györke, S; Terentyev, D. MicroRNA-1 and -133 increase arrhythmogenesis in heart failure by dissociating phosphatase activity from RyR2 complex. PloS one. 2011;6(12):e28324
- Nishijima, Y; Sridhar, A; Bonilla, I; Velayutham, M; Khan, M; Terentyeva, R; Li, C; Kuppusamy, P; Elton, TS; Terentyev, D; Györke, S; Zweier, JL; Cardounel, AJ; Carnes, CA. Tetrahydrobiopterin depletion and NOS2 uncoupling contribute to heart failure-induced alterations in atrial electrophysiology. Cardiovascular research. 2011 Jul 1;91(1):71-9
- Elton, TS; Martin, MM; Sansom, SE; Belevych, AE; Györke, S; Terentyev, D. miRNAs got rhythm. Life sciences. 2011 Feb 28;88(9-10):373-83
- Elton, TS; Sansom, SE; Martin, MM. Trisomy-21 gene dosage over-expression of miRNAs results in the haploinsufficiency of specific target proteins. RNA biology. 2010 Sep-Oct;7(5):540-7
- Elton, TS; Sansom, SE; Martin, MM. Cardiovascular Disease, Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms; and the Renin Angiotensin System: Is There a MicroRNA Connection? International journal of hypertension. 2010 Aug 4;2010
- Cremer, TJ; Ravneberg, DH; Clay, CD; Piper-Hunter, MG; Marsh, CB; Elton, TS; Gunn, JS; Amer, A; Kanneganti, TD; Schlesinger, LS; Butchar, JP; Tridandapani, S. MiR-155 induction by F. novicida but not the virulent F. tularensis results in SHIP down-regulation and enhanced pro-inflammatory cytokine response. PloS one. 2009 Dec 30;4(12):e8508
- Nuovo, GJ; Elton, TS; Nana-Sinkam, P; Volinia, S; Croce, CM; Schmittgen, TD. A methodology for the combined in situ analyses of the precursor and mature forms of microRNAs and correlation with their putative targets. Nature protocols. 2009;4(1):107-15
- Terentyev, D; Belevych, AE; Terentyeva, R; Martin, MM; Malana, GE; Kuhn, DE; Abdellatif, M; Feldman, DS; Elton, TS; Györke, S. miR-1 overexpression enhances Ca(2+) release and promotes cardiac arrhythmogenesis by targeting PP2A regulatory subunit B56alpha and causing CaMKII-dependent hyperphosphorylation of RyR2. Circulation research. 2009 Feb 27;104(4):514-21
- Mihai, C; Chotani, M; Elton, TS; Agarwal, G. Mapping of DDR1 distribution and oligomerization on the cell surface by FRET microscopy. Journal of molecular biology. 2009 Jan 16;385(2):432-45
Honors
- 1988 Clinical Research Award
- 1988 Finalist
- 1984 Summer Graduate Research Assistantship
- 1981 A.C. Glen King Award
Education
- Postdoctoral, 1988, University of Alabama
- Postdoctoral, 1987, Washington State University
- Ph.D., 1986, Washington State University, Biochemistry
- B.S., 1981, Weber State University, Chemistry
