Cheng Linzhao, Ph.D.

Linzhao Cheng, Ph.D.  Member of Stem Cell Program Institute for Cell Engineering; Assistant Professor of Gyn/Ob, Medicine and Oncology
Contact Information:  Dr. Cheng is a research faculty and will not see patients directly.

Academic Interests
Human stem cell biology and engineering; Hematopoiesis (blood-forming)

Research Interests
Dr. Cheng’s lab works on molecular and cell biology of human stem cells, including hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) that replenish our blood and immune systems everyday. Dr. Cheng is a recipient of The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) in 2003.  Selected by the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Presidential Office of Science and Technology Policy, “The Presidential Award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on outstanding scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers in USA”.  Dr. Cheng is cited "For outstanding accomplishments in the field of stem cell research including pioneering research that is advancing our knowledge of human embryonic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation of blood cells".  Dr. Cheng’s lab is currently focusing on stem cell self-renewal mechanisms that are responsible for the sustained blood production in healthy humans using both human embryonic stem cells and postnatal HSCs.  A deficiency of HSC self-renewal may cause bone marrow failure and an over-action may result in the transformation of normal blood cells to cancerous blood cells.  The second line of investigation in Dr, Cheng’s lab is to use human embryonic stem cells to create genetic mutations that are found in blood diseases.  This approach may offer a novel research model for human hematopoiesis and blood diseases.  See more details at http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/ice/faculty

Education:

Postdoctoral Training/positions 

Academic Positions

Selected Publications (peer-reviewed, original articles)     

• Cheng L, and Kelly TJ (1989). Transcriptional activator Nuclear Factor I stimulates the replication of SV40 minichromosomes in vivo and in vitro. Cell 59: 541-551.
  
  
• Cheng L, Workman JL, Kingston RE and Kelly TJ (1992).  Regulation of DNA replication in vitro by the transcriptional activation domain of GAL4-VP16. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci.(USA)  89: 589-593.
  
  
• Resnick JL, Bixler L, Cheng L and Donovan PJ (1992).  Long-term proliferation of mouse primordial germ cell in culture. Nature 359: 550-551.
  
  
• Cheng L, Gearing DP, White LS, Compton D, Schooley K and Donovan PJ (1994).  Role of leukemia inhibitory factor receptor (LIFR) for the growth of mouse primordial germ cells. Development  120: 3145-3153.
  
  
• Cheng L, Fu J, Tsukamoto A and Hawley RG (1996).  Use of green fluorescent protein (GFP) variants to monitor gene transfer and expression in mammalian cells. Nature Biotechnology 14: 606-609.
  
  
• Yang T-T, Cheng L and Kain SL (1996). Optimized codon usage and chromophore mutations provide enhanced sensitivity with green fluorescent protein in mammalian cells.   Nucl. Acid. Res.  24: 4592-4593.
  
  
• Cheng L, Du C, Murray D, Tong X, Zhang YA, Chen BP and Hawley RG (1997).  A GFP reporter system to assess gene transfer and expression in viable human hematopoietic progenitor cells.  Gene Therapy  4: 1013.
  
  
• Cheng L, Du C, Lavau C, Chen S, Tong J, Chen BP, Scollay R, and Hawley RG and Hill B (1998).  Sustained gene expression in retrovirally-transduced, engrafting human hematopoietic stem cells and their lympho-myeloid progeny. Blood  92: 83.
  
  
• Novelli E, Cheng L, Yang Y, Leung W, Ramirez M, Tanavde V, Enger C and Civin CI (1999). Ex vivo culture of human cord blood CD34⁺ cells expands progenitor cell numbers, preserves engraftment capacity in NOD/SCID mice, and enhances retroviral transduction efficiency. Human Gene Therapy, 10: 2927.
  
  
• Cheng L*, Qasba P*, Vanguri P and Thiede MA (2000). Human mesenchymal stem cells support megakaryocyte and pro-platelet formation from CD34⁺ hematopoietic progenitor cells.  J. Cellular Physiology, 184: 58. (*both authors contributed equally)
  
  
• Liu X, Rapp N, Deans R and Cheng L (2000). Molecular cloning of a candidate cytokine gene selectively expressed in human CD34+ cells.  Genomics, 65: 283.
  
  
• Gao Z, Golob J, Tanavde V, Civin CI, Hawley RG and Cheng L (2001). High levels of transgene expression following long-term NOD/SCID repopulating human cells with a modified lentiviral vector. Stem Cells, 19: 247-259.
  
  
• Yang X, Atalar E, Li D, Serfaty J, Kumar A and Cheng L (2001). MRI permits in vivo monitoring catheter-based vascular gene transfer. Circulation, 104: 1588-1590.
  
  
• Cui Y, Golob J, Kelleher E, Ye Z, Pardoll D, and Cheng L (2002). Targeting transgene expression to antigen presenting cells derived from lentivirus transduced, engrafting human hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Blood, 99, 399-408.
  
  
• Bernardin F, Yang Y, Cleaves R, Zahurak M, Cheng L, Civin C and Friedman A (2002).  TEL-AML1, expressed from t (12;21) in human acute lymphocytic leukemia, induces acute leukemia in mice.  Cancer Research, 62(14):3904-3908.
  
  
• Cheng L, Hammond H, Ye Z, Zhan X, and Dravid  G (2003). Human adult marrow cells support prolonged expansion of human embryonic stem cells in culture. Stem Cells, 20:121-132.
  
  
• Angelopoulou M, Novelli E, Grove JE, Henry M. Rinder M, Civin C, Cheng L, Krause DS (2003). Cotransplantation Of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells Enhances Human Myelopoiesis And Megakaryocytopoiesis In NOD/SCID Mice.  Experimental Hematology, 7:  413-420.
  
  
• Yu X, Zhan X, D’Costa J, Tanavde VM, Ye Z, Peng T, Malehorn MT, Yang X, Civin CI and Cheng L (2003). Lentiviral Vectors with Two Independent Internal Promoters Transfer High-Level Expression of Multiple Transgenes to Human Hematopoietic Stem-Progenitor Cells.  Molecular Therapy, 7: 827-838.
  
  
• Cui Y, Kelleher E, Straley E, Fuchs E, Gorski K, Levitsky H, Borrello I, Civin C, Schoenberger S, Cheng L, Pardoll DM, Whartenby KA. (2003). Immunotherapy of established tumors using bone marrow transplantation with antigen gene-modified hematopoietic stem cells. Nature Medicine, 9: 952-958.
  
  
• Zhou X, Cui Y, Huang X, Yu Z, Pardoll DM, Jaffee EM, and Cheng L (2003). Lentivirus-Mediated Gene Transfer and Expression in Established Human Cytotoxic T cells Specific to Tumor antigen and Primary Unstimulated T Cells. Human Gene Therapy, 14: 1089-1105.
  
  
• Pan F, Ye Z, Cheng L and Liu JO (2004). MEF-2 mediates calcium-dependent activation of the interleukin-2 gene in T lymphocytes. Journal of Biological Chemistry. 279: 14477-14480.
  
  
• Dunlap S, Yu X, Cheng L, Civin CI, Alani RM (2004). High-Efficiency Stable Gene Transduction in Primary Human Melanocytes Using a Lentiviral Expression System.  J Invest Dermatol. 122: 549-551.
  
  
• Zhan X, Dravid G, Ye Z, Hammond H, Shamblott M, Gearhart J, and Cheng L (2004). Functional antigen-presenting leukocytes derived from human embryonic stem cells in vitro.  The Lancet, 363: 163-171.
  
  
• Chou W-C, Chen H-Y, Yu S-L , Cheng L, Yang P-C, Dang CV (2005) Arsenic suppresses gene expression in promyelocytic leukemia cells partly through SP1 oxidation.  Blood, in press (Online March 10). 
  
  
• Dravid G, Ye Z, Hammond H, Chen G, Pyle A, Donovan PJ, Yu X and Cheng L (2005).  Defining the role of Wnt/beta-catenin signaling in the survival, proliferation and self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells.  Stem Cells, in press (online, July 7).