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Christopher Adams M.D. Ph.D.
christopher-adams
 uiowa edu Assistant Professor of Internal Medicine (Endocrinology and Metabolism)
Selected Publications
Malmberg SE, and Adams CM. Insulin Signaling and the General Amino Acid Control Response: Two Distinct Pathways to Amino Acid Synthesis and Uptake. J. Biol. Chem. Adams CM. Role of the Transcription Factor ATF4 in the Anabolic Actions of Insulin and the Anti-Anabolic Actions of Glucocorticoids. J. Biol. Chem. Adams CM, Reitz J, De Brabander JK, Feramisco JD, Li L, Brown MS, and Goldstein JL. Cholesterol and 25-Hydroxycholesterol Inhibit SREBP Processing by Different Mechanisms, Both Involving SCAP and Insigs. J. Adams CM, Brown MS, and Goldstein JL. Cholesterol-Induced Conformational Change in SCAP Enhanced by Insig Proteins and Mimicked by Cationic Amphiphiles. PNAS 100: 10647-10652, 2003. Adams CM, Snyder PM, and Welsh MJ. Paradoxical Stimulation of a DEG/ENaC Channel by Amiloride. J. Biol. Chem. 274: 15500-15504, 1999. Adams CM, Snyder PM, Price MP, and Welsh MJ. Protons Activate Brain Na+ Channel 1 by Inducing a Conformational Change that Exposes a Residue Associated with Neurodegeneration. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 30204-30207, 1998. |
Our laboratory studies the genetic control of mammalian metabolism. Currently, we are focusing on an evolutionarily ancient transcription factor called ATF4, which activates over twenty genes that cells use to take up and synthesize amino acids. Our projects include biochemical studies of cultured cells to determine how ATF4 is regulated by hormones and nutrients, and how ATF4 and downstream genes influence anabolic growth in cells; studies in transgenic and knockout mice to explore the role of ATF4 in skeletal muscle, the major tissue repository of amino acids and protein; and translational studies of skeletal muscle gene expression in human patients with muscle atrophy, a common and debilitating complication of many different illnesses ranging from diabetes to cancer.