Jeffrey H. Miner, Ph.D.

RESEARCH INTEREST

My research has two major focuses. The first deals with the roles of basement membranes, a specialized extracellular matrix, in embryonic development, organ function, and disease. Of particular interest are members of the laminin and collagen IV families and their roles in the kidney.
We have identified developmental transitions in laminin and collagen IV chain expression which parallel the stages of kidney development, and we have shown using knockout mice that these transitions are critical for maturation of the glomerular basement membrane, a component of the kidney's filtration apparatus. In addition, laminin alpha5 knockout mice exhibit a range of embryonic developmental defects that impair neural tube closure, limb patterning, placentation, and kidney and lung development. This underscores the importance of basement membranes in a variety of developmental processes. We are currently studying conditional laminin alpha5 knockout mice in order to better understand its role in mature kidney, lung, muscle, and intestine.
My second major interest concerns the role of fatty acid transport protein 4 (FATP4) in skin and hair development and in dietary fatty acid uptake. We discovered through positional cloning that mutation of FATP4 results in "wrinkle free" mice. These mice have very tight, thick skin and die shortly after birth because they are unable to breathe properly. In addition, grafted skin from the mutant exhibits impaired hair growth. We are now using biochemical, cell biological, and genetic techniques to determine the mechanism whereby FATP4 activity leads to normal skin development and normal hair growth. We are also investigating whether mice lacking FATP4 in the intestine have impaired dietary fat uptake.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS