Regulation of gene expression by KDM5 family proteins
What we do
The Secombe Lab is part of the Department of Genetics and the Department of Neuroscience at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. We are interested in understanding the function of the KDM5 family of transcriptional regulators. KDM5 proteins have a unique combination of chromatin modifying and recognition domains that regulate gene expression through distinct mechanisms. In addition, an ever-growing body of evidence links their dysregulation to human pathologies. Of the four human KDM5 paralogs (KDM5A-D), three are clinically significant. KDM5A or KDM5B are overexpressed in a large number of cancers, and loss of function mutations in KDM5A, KDM5B and KDM5C are found in patients with X-linked intellectual disability. We use Drosophila and human organoid models to understand KDM5 function.
Our Research
We use Drosophila and human organoid models to understand how KDM5 family proteins function in vivo. Drosophila are an animal model with a single kdm5 gene and an excellent genetic toolkit available to dissect KDM5 function. Human cells encode either three (XX individuals) or four (XY individuals) KDM5 genes - KDM5A, KDM5B, KDM5C and KDM5D.
