Yong Wan, PhD

Research Assistant Professor, Department of Medicine
Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Research Interests

Dr. Wan’s research interest is to understand the molecular and cellular causes of age-related bone disease – osteoporosis. Dr. Wan has established that both Wnt/beta-catenin signaling and Wnt/PCP signaling play a critical and broad role in regulating bone development and remodeling. Dr. Wan is currently exploring the biological function of the bone context secreted proteins. These efforts aim to characterize novel bone secreted factors and their role involved in bone development and metabolism. The ultimate goal is to develop promising strategies to treat age-related bone diseases.

Technique Expertise or Resources to share

Technique Expertise: (1) primary osteoblast isolation and differentiation; (2) primary BMMs isolation and Osteoclast differentiation; (3) Ex vivo bone culture.

Mouse model: Osteocalcin-cre transgenic mice

Cell Lines: (1) RAW264.7-D4 and RAW264.7-D8 (preosteoclast cells), two monoclone derived from RAW264.7 cells, which have superior differentiation ability toward mature osteoclast; (2) MC3T3 cells (preosteoblasts).

Keywords

Osteoblasts, Osteoclasts, Osteocytes, Chondrocyte, Wnt signal, Gpr177, Prickle1, Osteoporosis, Osteoarthritis