Yongsheng Ma, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Biomedical Sciences
mayong@isu.edu
Office Phone: (208) 422 1251
Laboratory Phone: (208) 422 1000 x7601
Fax: (208) 422 1155
Office: Boise VAMC, Research 151, 500 W. Fort St. Boise, ID 83702
Laboratory: Building 67, Room G01A
Curriculum Vitae
Infectious disease, Toxin gene regulation, host/pathogen interactions.
Education
Education
Ph.D. (1994) Biomedical Sciences, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New
York University, NY.
M.S. (1989) Biology, City College, City University of New York, NY.
M.D. (1982) Medicine, Lanzhou Medical School, Lanzhou, Gansu, China.
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Ma joined the faculty of the Department of Biological Sciences in 2008. After receiving his medical degree in China in 1982, he spent four years developing the protocols for the production of the first generation Hepatitis B vaccine which was badly needed in China at that time and the vaccine was used successfully for many years to immunize millions of people in China. He came to USA in 1987 and completed graduate work in Biomedical Sciences and finished postdoctoral training which was supported by a NIH postdoctoral fellowship award. He moved to Boise VA Medical Center in 1997 and was awarded a VA MREP grant beginning in October 1999 entitled: Pharmacology and Molecular Modeling of Cytochrome P450 1A1 Inhibition. In 2003, his research interests shifted from cancer back to infectious disease. His major research focus in biomedical science encompasses both eukaryotic and prokaryotic systems as they relate to host/pathogen interactions. Specifically, his current research focuses on the genetic mechanisms controlling exotoxin production in strains of group A streptococcus (GAS) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus. Both of these pathogens are re-emerging public health threats that cause severe invasive infections in patients in hospitals and community settings worldwide. Exotoxins produced by these organisms mediate tissue destruction, organ failure and shock in these infections. His long-term goals are to understanding the regulation of toxin production so as to identify novel molecular targets for therapeutic intervention that will reduce disease severity and improve outcomes in patients with these devastating infections.
Teaching
BIOL 411k
Selected Publications
Gillo, B., Ma, Y.S., and Marks, A.R. 1993 Calcium influx in
induced differentiation of murine erythroleukemia cells. Blood. 81:
783-92.
Ma, Y.S., Kobrinsky, E., and Marks, A.R. 1995 Cloning and expression
of a novel truncated calcium channel from non-excitable cells. J.
Biol. Chem. 270: 483-93.
Harnick, D.J., Thottala, J., Ma, Y.S., Mulieri, P., Go, L.O.,
and Marks, A.R. 1995 The human type 1 inosital 1,4,5-trisphosphate
receptor from T lymphocytes. J. Biol. Chem. 270: 2833-40.
Herwig, S., Su, Q., Zhang, W., Ma, Y.S., and Tempst, P. 1996
Distinct temporal patterns of defensin mRNA regulation during drug-induced
differentiation of human myeloid leukemia cells. Blood. 87: 350-64.
Ma, Y.S., Su, Q., and Tempst, P. 1998 RA-inducible factor binding
an Ets-like essential regulatory element in the human promyelocytic
defensin-1 promoter. J. Biol. Chem. 273: 8727-40.
Ma, Y.S., Strieff, R.J., Liu, J., Spence, M.J., and Vestal,
R.E. 1999 Cloning and characterization of human oncostatin M promoter.
Nucleic Acids Research 27: 4649-4657.
Spence, M.J., Vestal, R.E., Ma, Y.S., Streiff, R., and Liu,
J. 2000 Oncostatin M suppresses egf-mediated protein tyrosine phosphorylation
in breast cancer cells. Cytokine 12: 922-933.
Lu, A., Gupta, A., Li, C., Ahlborn, T.E., Ma, Y.S., Shi, E.Y.,
and Liu, J. 2001 Molecular mechanisms for aberrant expression of the
human breast cancer specific gene 1 in breast cancer cells: control
of transcription by DNA methylation and intronic sequences. Oncogene
20: 5173-85.
Spence, M.J., Streiff, R., Day, D., and Ma, Y.S. 2002 Oncostatin
M induces tissue-type plasminogen activator and plasminogen activatior
inhibitor-1 in Calu-1 lung carcinoma cells. Cytokine 18: 26-34.
Hadjokas, N.E., Dai, R., Friedman, F.K., Spence, M.J., Vestal, R.E.,
Cusack, B.J., and Ma, Y.S. 2002 Arginine to lysine 108 substitution
in recombinant cyp1a2 abolishes methoxyresorufin metabolism in lymphoblastoid
cells. British Journal of Pharmacology 136: 347-352.
Ma Y, Bryant AE, Salmi DB, Hayes-Schroer SM, Aldape MJ, Stevens
DL. 2006. Identification and characterization of bicistronic speB
and prsA gene expression in Group A streptococcus. J Bacteriol 188(21):7626-7634.
Stevens DL, Ma Y, Salmi DB, McIndoo E, Wallace RJ, Bryant AE.
2007. Impact of antibiotics on expression of virulence-associated
exotoxin genes in methicillin-sensitive and methicillin-resistant
Staphylococcus aureus. J Infect Dis 195 (2): 202-11.
Aldape MJ, Bryant AE, Ma Y, Stevens DL. 2007. The leukemoid
reaction in Clostridium sordellii infection: neuraminidase induction
of promyelocytic cell proliferation. J. Infect Dis, 195(12): 1838-45.
Kastl SP, Speidl WS, Kaun C, Katsaros KM, Rega G, Valent P, Hagmuller
GW, Hoeth M, Martin R, Ma Y, Maurer G, Huber K, Wojta H. 2008.
In human macrophages the complement component C5A induces the expression
of oncostatin M via AP-1 activation. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis
and Vascular Biology. 28(3): 498-503.
Stephanie M. Hamilton, Amy E. Bryant, Karen C. Carroll, Vivian Lockary,
Yongsheng Ma, Eric McIndoo, Loren G. Miller, Francoise Perdreau-Remington,
John Pullman, George F. Risi, Daniel B. Salmi, Dennis L. Stevens.
2007. In vitro production of Panton-Valentine Leukocidin (PVL) among
strains of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus causing diverse
infections. Clin Infect Dis. 15;45(12): 1550-8.