The primary research goal of the Henry laboratory is to understand the molecular and cellular basis of prostate cancer metastasis, in order to develop new methods for the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. The group is modeling prostate cancer metastasis in animals utilizing bioluminescence imaging technology, with the aim of better understanding the fundamental biology of this disease. Although his cancer-related research is not relevant to the Center's disease focus, Dr. Henry brings a breadth of knowledge to the Center on the use of in vivo biophotonic imaging in mice. He was the first investigator at the University of Iowa to initiate such studies, and in this context has collaborated with many Center investigators in the use of biophotonic imaging to study gene transfer and therapies directed at genetic diseases. The utility of the IVIS imaging system in his laboratory was a major reason the Center facilitated a purchase of a second IVIS instrument for Center members. He has created several very useful transgenic reporter mice that constitutively express luciferase or CRE-inducible luciferase for studying gene knockdown and gene targeting in vivo. Center-related research in the Henry laboratory is directed at the use of these animal models to evaluate novel therapeutic approaches for the in vivo delivery of siRNAs directed at inhibiting expression of androgen receptors and the application of these approaches in endocrine disorders.
Selected Publications:
Weir, M.L., Oppizzi, M.L., Henry, M.D., Onishi, A., Campbell, K.P., Bissell, M.J., and Muschler, J.L. 2006. Dystroglycan loss disrupts polarity and beta-casein induction in mammary epithelial cells by perturbing laminin anchoring. J Cell Sci 119:4047-4058.
Wang, G., Cong, W., Kumar, D., Qian, X., Shen, H., Sinn, P.,Hoffman, E., McLennan, G., and Henry, M. In vivo mouse studies with bioluminescence tomography. Optics Express, 14:7801-7809, 2006.
Svensson, R.U., Barnes, M.J. Rokhlin, O., Cohen, M.B. and Henry, M.D. Chemotherapeutic agents upregulate the CMV promoter via p38 MAPK: Implications for bioluminescence imaging of tumor response to therapy. Cancer Research, 67:10445-10454, 2007.
Qian, X., Jiang, M., Shen, H.O., Zhang, B., Durairaj, K., Cong, W.X., Li, X.D., Henry, M., Fajardo, L., and Wang, G. 2007. In vivo bioluminescent source estimation using computational optical biopsy. Med Eng Phys. (Epub ahead of print).
