Heithem M. El-Hodiri, Ph.D.

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Gender:

• Male

Languages Spoken:

• English

Research Center:

• Center for Molecular and Human Genetics

Areas of Interest:

• My lab’s primary research focus is the genetic regulation of early neural development, primarily using the African clawed frog, Xenopus, as a model system. We are currently focusing on the mechanism by which members of the paired-type homeobox gene family regulate gene expression in the developing neural retina. In particular, we are investigating the Rx (retinal homeobox) and related genes. We will compare and contrast the proteins encoded by these genes to gain a better understanding of how they function to regulate gene expression in early development of the neural retina. Rx is expressed in the anterior neural plate and the progenitors of the eye fields, where it plays an essential role in eye development. In particular, we are interested in the involvement of Rx in retinal progenitor cells. We are interested in the Rx genetic pathway, including understanding how proper spatial and temporal Rx expression is regulated, leading to normal eye development. We will also try to identify and characterize genes that are regulated by Rx. These genes should also play important roles in eye development. We believe that a better understanding of the Rx genetic pathway will lead to a better understanding of the early genetic events of eye development. We are also investigating the involvement of Rx in retinal regeneration. The amphibian eye can regenerate after physical damage. This process involves the recruitment/generation of retinal stem and progenitor cells. Rx is expressed in these cells and is necessary for their recruitment at the regenerating wound. We are interested in investigating the role Rx plays in retinal progenitor cell development in the regenerating retina. We hope that a better understanding of the process of retinal stem/progenitor cell recruitment in amphibians will lead to insights into promoting retinal regeneration in humans.

Undergraduate

• University of Kansas
  Date Completed: 06/30/1983

Graduate School

• University of Kansas
  Date Completed: 06/30/1990

Post Doctoral

• University of Kansas
  Date Completed: 06/30/1991

2004–present

• Faculty, Integrated Biomedical Sciences Graduate Program, School of Medicine and Public Health, The Ohio State University.

2002–present

• Faculty, Graduate Program in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, College of Biological Sciences, The Ohio State University.

2002–present

• Faculty, Neuroscience Graduate Studies Program, School of Medicine and Public Health, The Ohio State University.

2001–present

• Principal Investigator, Center for Molecular and Human Genetics, The Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital 

2001–present

• Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and Public Health, The Ohio State University

2001–2007

• Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine and Public Health, The Ohio State University

1998–2001

• Research Associate (supervisor:  Dr. Milan Jamrich), Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Baylor College of Medicine

1995–1998

• Postdoctoral Fellow (supervisor:  Dr. Laurence Etkin), Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

1991–1995

• Postdoctoral Fellow (supervisor:  Dr. Michael Perry), Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center

1985–1991

• Graduate Research Assistant (supervisor:  Dr. Dean Stetler), Department of Biochemistry, University of Kansas

• Pan, Y., Martinez-de Luna, R.I., Lou, C.-H., Nekkalapudi, S., Kelly, L.E., Sater, A.K. and El-Hodiri, H.M. 2010. Regulation of photoreceptor gene expression by the retinal homeobox (Rx) gene product.  Dev. Biol.. Vol. 339. : 494-506.
• Wilson, J.M., Martinez-de Luna, R.I., El-Hodiri, H.M., Smith, R., King, M.W., Mescher, A.L., Neff, A.W., and Belecky-Adams, T.L. 2010. RNA helicase Ddx39 is expressed in the developing central nervous system, limb, otic vesicle, branchial arches and facial mesenchyme of Xenopus laevis.  Gene Expression Patterns. Vol. 10. : 44-52.
• Stanke, J., Moose, H.E., El-Hodiri, H.M., and Fischer, A.J. 2010. A comparative study of Pax2 expression in glial cells in the retina and optic nerve of birds and mammals.  J. Comp. Neurol.. Vol. 518. : 2316-2333.
• Martinez-De Luna, R.I., Moose, H.E., Kelly, L.E., Nekkalapudi, S., and El-Hodiri, H.M. 2010. Regulation of retinal homeobox gene transcription by cooperative activity among cis-elements.  Gene. Vol. 467. : 13-24.
• Willardsen MI; Suli A; Pan Y; Marsh-Armstrong N; Chien CB; El-Hodiri H; Brown NL; Moore KB; Vetter ML. 2009. Temporal regulation of Ath5 gene expression during eye development.  Developmental Biology. Vol. 326, no. 2. (February 15): 471-481.
• Wolanski M; Khosrowshahian F; Kelly LE; El-Hodiri HM; Crawford MJ. 2009. xArx2: an aristaless homolog that regulates brain regionalization during development in Xenopus laevis.  Genesis (New York, N.Y.: 2000). Vol. 47, no. 1. (January 1): 19-31.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Pan, Y., Martinez-De Luna, R.I., Nekkalapudi, S., Kelly, L.E. 2009. The Retinal Homebox (Rx) Gene Product Is Necessary for Normal Expression of Photoreceptor-Specific Genes and Photoreceptor Function [Abstract]. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. no. 50: ARVO E-Abstract 488 (Published)
• Fullenkamp AN, El-Hodiri HM. 2008. The function of the Aristaless-related homeobox (Arx) gene product as a transcriptional repressor is diminished by mutations associated with X-linked mental retardation (XLMR).  Biochem Biophys Res Commun. Vol. 377, no. 1. (December 5): 73-78. (IF: 2.749)
• Ignatius MS, Moose HE, El-Hodiri HM, Henion PD. 2008. colgate/hdac1 Repression of foxd3 expression is required to permit mitfa-dependent melanogenesis.  Dev Biol. Vol. 313, no. 2. (January 15): 568-583. (IF: 4.714)
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Martinez-De Luna, R.I., Kelly, L.E., and Moose, H.E. 2008. Expression of the Retinal Homeobox (Rx) Gene in Xenopus Retinal Progenitor Cells Requires Cooperative Activity of Conserved Genomic Elements [Abstract]. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci. ARVO E-Abstract 5398, Vol. 49 (Published)
• Rorick AM, Mei W, Liette NL, Phiel C, El-Hodiri HM, Yang J. 2007. PP2A:B56epsilon is required for eye induction and eye field separation.  Developmental Biology. Vol. 302, no. 2: 477-493.
• Kelly LE, Nekkalapudi S, El-Hodiri HM. 2007. Expression of the forkhead transcription factor FoxN4 in progenitor cells in the developing Xenopus laevis retina and brain.  Gene Expression Patterns. Vol. 7, no. 3: 233-238.
• Martinez-De Luna RI, El-Hodiri HM. 2007. The Xenopus ortholog of the nuclear hormone receptor Nr2e3 is primarily expressed in developing photoreceptors.  International Journal of Developmental Biology. Vol. 51, no. 3: 235-240.
• Pan Y; Nekkalapudi S; Kelly LE; El-Hodiri HM. 2006. The Rx-like homeobox gene (Rx-L) is necessary for normal photoreceptor development.  Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science. Vol. 47, no. 10. (October 1): 4245-4253.
• Kelly LE; Carrel TL; Herman GE; El-Hodiri HM. 2006. Pbx1 and Meis1 regulate activity of the Xenopus laevis Zic3 promoter through a highly conserved region.  Biochemical And Biophysical Research Communications. Vol. 344, no. 3. (June 9): 1031-1037.
• Sater, A.K. and El-Hodiri, H., Zhang, L., Shah, R., Mathers, P.H., and Jamrich, M. 2006. Analysis of MAP kinase pathways in vertebrate development. In Analysis of Growth Factor Signaling in Embryos. Edited by M. Whitman and A.K. Sater. Boca Raton, Fl, USA: CRC Press. 61-86.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., and Kelly, L.E., Nekkalapudi, S., and Martinez-De Luna, R.I. 2006. Involvement of the Forkhead Transcription Factor FoxN4 in Xenopus Retinal Progenitor Cell Development [Abstract]. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.. no. 47: E-Abstract 5757 (Published)
• Chow, S.J., Hermesz, E., Hatta, T., Feltner, D., El-Hodiri, H.M., Jamrich, M., A Mahon, K.A. 2006. Conserved regulatory elements established the dynamic expression of Rpx/HesxI in early vertebrate development.  Dev. Bio.. Vol. 292: 533-545.
• Seufert DW; Hegde RS; Nekkalapudi S; Kelly LE; El-Hodiri HM. 2005. Expression of a novel Ski-like gene in Xenopus development.  Gene Expression Patterns: GEP. Vol. 6, no. 1. (December 1): 22-28.
• Hester M; Thompson JC; Mills J; Liu Y; El-Hodiri HM; Weinstein M. 2005. Smad1 and Smad8 function similarly in mammalian central nervous system development.  Molecular And Cellular Biology. Vol. 25, no. 11. (June 1): 4683-4692.
• Kelly LE; Davy BE; Berbari NF; Robinson ML; El-Hodiri HM. 2005. A recombineered Xenopus tropicalis BAC expresses a GFP reporter under the control of Arx transcriptional regulatory elements in transgenic Xenopus laevis embryos.  Genesis (New York, N.Y.: 2000). Vol. 41, no. 4. (April 1): 185-191.
• Seufert DW; Prescott NL; El-Hodiri HM. 2005. Arx acts as both a transcriptional repressor and activator druing vertebrate forebrain development.  Developmental Dynamics: An Official Publication Of The American Association Of Anatomists. Vol. 232, no. 2. (February 1): 313-324.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., and Kelly, L.E. 2005. The aristaless-related homeobox (arx) gene product is essential for normal forebrain development [Abstract]. no. 283: 670 (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Nekkalapudi, S., Kelly, L.E., and Bertuzzi, S. 2005. The retinal homeobox (Rx) gene product acts as a transcriptional activator in cooperation with other retinal transcription factors [Abstract]. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.. E-Abstract 3133, Vol. 46 (Published)
• El-Hodiri HM; Seufert DW; Nekkalapudi S; Prescott NL; Kelly LE; Jamrich M. 2005. Xenopus laevis FoxE1 is primarily expressed in the developing pituitary and thyroid.  The International Journal Of Developmental Biology. Vol. 49, no. 7. (January 1): 881-884.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., and Kelly, L.E. 2005. The aristaless-related homeobox (arx) gene product is essential for normal forebrain development [Abstract]. Society for Neuroscience. no. Program No, 597.5. Washington, DC, USA: Online (Published)
• Liu Y; Festing M; Thompson JC; Hester M; Rankin S; El-Hodiri HM; Zorn AM; Weinstein M. 2004. Smad2 and Smad3 coordinately regulate craniofacial and endodermal development.  Developmental Biology. Vol. 270, no. 2. (June 15): 411-426.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Seufert, D.W., and Prescott, N. 2004. Overexpression analysis of Arx in Xenopus forbrain development [Abstract]. Presented at the Pediatric Academic Society Annual Meeting. San Fransico, CA. (May) (Published)
• Tseng, H.T., Brownwell, I., Hashimoto, R., El-Hodiri, H., Medina-Martinez, O., Shah, R., Zilinski, C., and Jamrich, M. 2004. Role of Fox genes during Xenopus embryogenesis. In The Vertebrate Organizer. Edited by H. Grunz. Columbus, OH: Springer Verlag. 41-54.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Seufert, D.W., Prescott, N.L. 2004. The Xenopus aristaless-related homeobox (sarx) gene product functions as both a transcriptional activator and repressor in forebrain development. Program No. 482.3 [Abstract]. Society for Neuroscience Online Abstract Viewer/Itinerary Planner. Washington, DC, USA (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M. and Nekkalapudi, S. 2004. Isolation and preliminary characterization of the Xenopus laevis Rx2A [Abstract]. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.. ARVO E-Abstract, Vol. 45: 652 (Published)
• Sater AK; El-Hodiri HM; Goswami M; Alexander TB; Al-Sheikh O; Etkin LD; Akif Uzman J. 2003. Evidence for antagonism of BMP-4 signals by MAP kinase during Xenopus axis determination and neural specification.  Differentiation; Research In Biological Diversity. Vol. 71, no. 7. (September 1): 434-444.
• Zhang L; El-Hodiri HM; Ma HF; Zhang X; Servetnick M; Wensel TG; Jamrich M. 2003. Targeted expression of the dominant-negative FGFR4a in the eye using Xrx1A regulatory sequences interferes with normal retinal development.  Development (Cambridge, England). Vol. 130, no. 17. (September 1): 4177-4186.
• El-Hodiri HM; Qi XL; Seufert DW. 2003. The Xenopus arx gene is expressed in the developing rostral forebrain.  Development Genes And Evolution. Vol. 212, no. 12. (January 1): 608-612.
• Herman, G.E., and El-Hodiri, H.M. 2003. Review of Cytogenetic and Genome Research. no. 99: 229-235. (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M. and Prescott, N.L. 2003. Identification and Characterization of a Xenopus Rx-like Gene [Abstract]. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci.. ARVO E-Abstract, Vol. 44: 2263 (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Zhang, L., Ma, H.-F., and Jamrich, M. 2001. Characterization of the Xenopus laevis Rx1A promoter in transgeneic frogs [Abstract]. Invest Ophthamol. Vis. Sci. Vol. 42, no. 4: S657 (Published)
• El-Hodiri H; Bhatia-Dey N; Kenyon K; Ault K; Dirksen M; Jamrich M. 2001. Fox (forkhead) genes are involved in the dorso-ventral patterning of the Xenopus mesoderm.  The International Journal Of Developmental Biology. Vol. 45, no. 1. (January 1): 265-271.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Zhang, L., Ma, H.-F., and Jamrich, M. 2001. Characterization of the Xenopus laevis Rx1A promoter in transgenic frogs [Abstract]. no. 235: 280 (Published)
• He W; Lu L; Zhang X; El-Hodiri HM; Chen CK; Slep KC; Simon MI; Jamrich M; Wensel TG. 2000. Modules in the photoreceptor RGS9-1.Gbeta 5L GTPase-accelerating protein complex control effector coupling, GTPase acceleration, protein folding, and stability.  The Journal Of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 275, no. 47. (November 24): 37093-37100.
• Huang HP; Liu M; El-Hodiri HM; Chu K; Jamrich M; Tsai MJ. 2000. Regulation of the pancreatic islet-specific gene BETA2 (neuroD) by neurogenin 3.  Molecular And Cellular Biology. Vol. 20, no. 9. (May 1): 3292-3307.
• Huang L; Li X; El-Hodiri HM; Dayal S; Wikramanayake AH; Klein WH. 2000. Involvement of Tcf/Lef in establishing cell types along the animal-vegetal axis of sea urchins.  Development Genes And Evolution. Vol. 210, no. 2. (February 1): 73-81.
• Che S; El-Hodiri HM; Wu CF; Nelman-Gonzalez M; Weil MM; Etkin LD; Clark RB; Kuang J. 1999. Identification and cloning of Xp95, a putative signal transduction protein in Xenopus oocytes.  The Journal Of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 274, no. 9. (February 26): 5522-5531.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., and Etkin, L.D. 1998. Xenopus nuclear factor 7 (XNF7) function is required for expression of specific genes in the mid-blastula embryo. [Abstract]. Dev. Biol.. Vol. 198: 87 (Published)
• Uzgare, A., Uzman, A., El-Hodiri, H.M., and Sater, A.K. 1998. MAP kinase and neural specification.  Pro. Natl. Acad. Sci.. Vol. 95: 14833-14838.
• El-Hodiri HM; Shou W; Etkin LD. 1997. Xnf7 functions in dorsal-ventral patterning of the Xenopus embryo.  Developmental Biology. Vol. 190, no. 1. (October 1): 1-17.
• El-Hodiri HM; Che S; Nelman-Gonzalez M; Kuang J; Etkin LD. 1997. Mitogen-activated protein kinase and cyclin B/Cdc2 phosphorylate Xenopus nuclear factor 7 (xnf7) in extracts from mature oocytes. Implications for regulation of xnf7 subcellular localization.  The Journal Of Biological Chemistry. Vol. 272, no. 33. (August 15): 20463-20470.
• Etkin, L.D., El-Hodiri, H.M., Nakamura, H., Wu, C.-F., Shou, W., and Gong, S.-G. 1997. Review of Characterization of xnf7 function during early development in Xenopus. no. 173: 144-146. (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Shou, W., and Etkin, L.D. 1997. Involvement of Xenopus nuclear factor 7 in dorsal/ventral patterning [Abstract]. Dev. Biol.. Vol. 186: 326 (Published)
• El-Hodiri, H.M., Shou, W., Li, X., and Etkin, L.D. 1996. Involvement of Xenopus nuclear factor 7 in dorsal/ventral patterning [Abstract]. Dev. Biol.. Vol. 175: 390 (Published)
• El-Hodiri HM; Perry M. 1995. Interaction of the CCAAT displacement protein with shared regulatory elements required for transcription of paired histone genes.  Molecular And Cellular Biology. Vol. 15, no. 7. (July 1): 3587-3596.
• El-Hodiri, H.M., and Perry, M. 1993. Developmental regulation of Xenopus laevis histone H2A and H2B gene transcription [Abstract]. J. Cell. Biochem.. Vol. 17A: 193 (Published)