Edward M. De Robertis

Edward M. De Robertis
Born(1947-06-06)June 6, 1947
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Alma mater
Known forDorsal-Ventral patterning, Evo-Devo, Xenopus
Scientific career
Fieldsembryology
Institutions
Doctoral advisorJohn Gurdon
Websitehttps://www.hhmi.ucla.edu/derobertis/

Edward Michael De Robertis (born June 6, 1947) is an American embryologist and Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.[1][2] His work has contributed to the finding of conserved molecular processes of embryonic inductions that result in tissue differentiations during animal development.[3] He was elected to the National Academy of Sciences in 2013, worked for the Howard Hughes Medical Institute for 26 years, and holds a Distinguished Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles.[4][5] In 2009 Pope Benedict XVI appointed De Robertis to a lifetime position in the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2022 Pope Francis appointed him Councillor of the Academy for four years.[6][7]

Early life and education

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Edward De Robertis was born on June 6, 1947, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while his father, neurobiologist Eduardo Diego De Robertis, was an MIT postdoctoral fellow. From the age of three, he was reared in Uruguay, where he received his medical degree at age 24 from the Universidad de la República del Uruguay. This was followed by the completion of a Ph.D. in chemistry at the Leloir Institute in Buenos Aires, Argentina.[8][9]

Career and research

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De Robertis' postdoctoral training (1974-1977) was with Nobel laureate Sir John Gurdon at the Medical Research Council in Cambridge England.

In 1984, De Robertis together with his late colleague Walter Gehring's and their laboratories cloned the first vertebrate development-controlling gene, today known as Hox-C6.[10][11][12][13][14][15] Hox genes are responsible for anterior-to-posterior (head-to-tail) differentiation. The finding that Hox genes are conserved in both vertebrates and fruit flies heralded the beginning of the nascent scientific field of Evolution and Development, or Evo-Devo.[16][17][18]

In the 1990s, the laboratory of De Robertis dissected systematically the molecular pathways that mediate embryonic induction.[19][20] Hans Spemann and Hilde Mangold discovered in 1924 an area of the amphibian embryo that, when transplanted, might promote the creation of Siamese twins.[21] De Robertis identified the genes expressed in Xenopus embryos in this area, beginning with the goosecoid homeobox gene.[22][23]

Together with his colleagues, he discovered Chordin, a protein secreted by dorsal cells that binds Bone Morphogenetic Protein (BMP) growth factors, facilitating their transport to the ventral side of the embryo, where Chordin is digested by a protease called Tolloid, allowing BMPs to signal once more.[24][25][26][27] In most bilateral species, such as fruit flies, spiders, early chordates, and mammals, this flow of growth factors dictates dorsal (back) to ventral (belly) cell and tissue differentiation. The Chordin/BMP/Tolloid biochemical pathway is cross-regulated by interactions with other signalling pathways such as Wnt.[28] His lab has recently established a link between the canonical Wnt pathway, macropinocytosis, multivesicular endosomes, lysosomes, and protein degradation.[29][30][31]

He has also served for over two decades on the scientific board of the Pew Charitable Trusts Latin American Fellows programme.[citation needed]

Honors and awards

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  • Member, National Academy of Sciences, 2013.
  • Doctor Honoris Causa, Université Pierre et Marie Curie, Paris, France, 2013.[32]
  • Academician, Pontifical Academy of Sciences, the Vatican, 2009.
  • Ross Harrison Prize in Developmental Biology, 2009.
  • Membre Honoré, Societé de Biologie, Paris, France, 2008.
  • Corresponding Member, Latin American Academy of Sciences, 2002.
  • Fellow, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 2000.
  • Public lecture series and Medal of the Collège de France, Paris, 1997.
  • Member, European Molecular Biology Organization, 1982.
  • Jane Coffin Childs Memorial Fund postdoctoral fellow, 1976-1977.

Publications

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  • Carrasco, A.E., McGinnis, W., Gehring, W.J. and De Robertis, E.M. (1984). Cloning of an Xenopus laevis gene expressed during early embryogenesis that codes for a peptide region homologous to Drosophila homeotic genes: implications for vertebrate development. Cell 37, 409-414.[33][34]
  • De Robertis, E.M. and Sasai, Y. (1996). A common plan for dorso-ventral patterning in Bilateria. Nature 380, 37-40.[35]
  • De Robertis, E.M. and Tejeda-Muñoz N. (2022). Evo-Devo of Urbilateria and its larval forms. Dev. Biol., 487, 10-20.[36]
  • Cho, K.W.Y, Blumberg, B., Steinbeisser, H. and De Robertis, E.M. (1991). Molecular Nature of Spemann's Organizer: the Role of the Xenopus Homeobox Gene goosecoid. Cell 67, 1111-1120.[37]
  • Sasai, Y., Lu, B., Steinbeisser, H., Geissert, D., Gont, L.K. and De Robertis, E.M. (1994). Xenopus chordin: a novel dorsalizing factor activated by organizer-specific homeobox genes. Cell 79, 779-790.[38]
  • Piccolo, S., Sasai, Y., Lu, B. and De Robertis, E.M. (1996). Dorsoventral patterning in Xenopus: Inhibition of ventral signals by direct binding of Chordin to BMP-4. Cell 86, 589-598.[39]
  • Piccolo, S., Agius, E., Lu, B., Goodman, S., Dale, L. and De Robertis, E.M. (1997). Cleavage of Chordin by the Xolloid metalloprotease suggests a role for proteolytic processing in the regulation of Spemann organizer activity. Cell 91, 407-416.[40]
  • Lee, H.X., Ambrosio, A.L., Reversade, B. and De Robertis, E.M. (2006). Embryonic dorsal-ventral signaling: secreted Frizzled-related proteins as inhibitors of Tolloid proteinases. Cell 124, 147-159.[41]

References

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  1. ^ "Edward M. De Robertis – Department of Biological Chemistry, UCLA". Archived from the original on 2022-09-20. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  2. ^ Viegas, Jennifer (2013-12-17). "Profile of Edward M. De Robertis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (51): 20349–20351. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11020349V. doi:10.1073/pnas.1320552110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3870733. PMID 24277844.
  3. ^ De Robertis; M, Edward (April 2006). "Spemann's organizer and self-regulation in amphibian embryos". Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 7 (4): 296–302. doi:10.1038/nrm1855. ISSN 1471-0080. PMC 2464568. PMID 16482093.
  4. ^ "Edward M. De Robertis". www.pas.va. Archived from the original on 2022-07-01. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  5. ^ "Edward Michael De Robertis". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  6. ^ "Edward M. De Robertis". HHMI. Archived from the original on 2019-12-20. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  7. ^ "Two UCLA faculty elected to National Academy of Sciences | UCLA Health". www.uclahealth.org. Archived from the original on 2021-10-26. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  8. ^ "Edward De Robertis – Molecular Biology Institute". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  9. ^ "Edward De Robertis - Biozentrum". www.biozentrum.unibas.ch. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  10. ^ "Edward Michael De Robertis". American Academy of Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  11. ^ Hussain, Imran; Bhan, Arunoday; Ansari, Khairul I.; Deb, Paromita; Bobzean, Samara A. M.; Perrotti, Linda I.; Mandal, Subhrangsu S. (2015-06-01). "Bisphenol-A induces expression of HOXC6, an estrogen-regulated homeobox-containing gene associated with breast cancer". Biochimica et Biophysica Acta (BBA) - Gene Regulatory Mechanisms. 1849 (6): 697–708. doi:10.1016/j.bbagrm.2015.02.003. ISSN 1874-9399. PMC 4437882. PMID 25725483.
  12. ^ "Edward M. De Robertis". www.nasonline.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-24. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  13. ^ Nolte, Christof; Krumlauf, Robb (2013). Expression of Hox Genes in the Nervous System of Vertebrates. Landes Bioscience. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  14. ^ "Edward De Robertis - Biozentrum". www.biozentrum.unibas.ch. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  15. ^ "Edward De Robertis – Molecular Biology Institute". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  16. ^ "Dr. Edward De Robertis on exploring our ancient genetic toolbox". UCLA. Archived from the original on 2021-10-24. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  17. ^ "Edward De Robertis – Molecular Biology Institute". Archived from the original on 2022-01-24. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  18. ^ De Robertis, Eddy M. (April 2008). "Eddy M. De Robertis". Current Biology. 18 (8): R318–R320. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2008.02.037. PMC 2606973. PMID 18561377.
  19. ^ Viegas, Jennifer (2013-12-17). "Profile of Edward M. De Robertis". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (51): 20349–20351. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11020349V. doi:10.1073/pnas.1320552110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3870733. PMID 24277844.
  20. ^ Niehrs, Christof (2020-08-05). "Lessons from the Organizer - an interview with Edward (Eddy) M. De Robertis". International Journal of Developmental Biology. 65 (1–2–3): 111–122. doi:10.1387/ijdb.190298cn. ISSN 0214-6282. PMID 32813267. S2CID 221180740. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  21. ^ "Spemann-Mangold Organizer | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia". embryo.asu.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-04-02. Retrieved 2022-09-26.
  22. ^ Niehrs, Christof (2020-08-05). "Lessons from the Organizer - an interview with Edward (Eddy) M. De Robertis". International Journal of Developmental Biology. 65 (1–2–3): 111–122. doi:10.1387/ijdb.190298cn. ISSN 0214-6282. PMID 32813267. S2CID 221180740. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  23. ^ Robertis, Edward M. De; Gurdon, John B. (2021-03-30). "A Brief History of Xenopus in Biology". Cold Spring Harbor Protocols. 2021 (12): pdb.top107615. doi:10.1101/pdb.top107615. ISSN 1940-3402. PMID 33785561. S2CID 232431470. Archived from the original on 2022-10-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  24. ^ Plouhinec, Jean-Louis; Zakin, Lise; Moriyama, Yuki; De Robertis, Edward M. (2013-12-17). "Chordin forms a self-organizing morphogen gradient in the extracellular space between ectoderm and mesoderm in the Xenopus embryo". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 110 (51): 20372–20379. Bibcode:2013PNAS..11020372P. doi:10.1073/pnas.1319745110. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3870759. PMID 24284174.
  25. ^ "Untitled Document". www.hhmi.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  26. ^ De Robertis, Edward M.; Moriyama, Yuki (2016-01-01), Wassarman, Paul M. (ed.), "Chapter Thirteen - The Chordin Morphogenetic Pathway", Current Topics in Developmental Biology, Essays on Developmental Biology, Part A, 116, Academic Press: 231–245, doi:10.1016/bs.ctdb.2015.10.003, PMID 26970622, S2CID 13919776, retrieved 2022-10-02
  27. ^ De Robertis, Edward M.; Moriyama, Yuki; Colozza, Gabriele (September 2017). "Generation of animal form by the Chordin/Tolloid/BMP gradient: 100 years after D'Arcy Thompson". Development, Growth & Differentiation. 59 (7): 580–592. doi:10.1111/dgd.12388. PMID 28815565. S2CID 22076923.
  28. ^ De Robertis, Edward M.; Moriyama, Yuki; Colozza, Gabriele (September 2017). "Generation of animal form by the Chordin/Tolloid/BMP gradient: 100 years after D'Arcy Thompson". Development, Growth & Differentiation. 59 (7): 580–592. doi:10.1111/dgd.12388. PMID 28815565. S2CID 22076923.
  29. ^ Albrecht, Lauren V.; Tejeda-Muñoz, Nydia; De Robertis, Edward M. (2021-10-06). "Cell Biology of Canonical Wnt Signaling". Annual Review of Cell and Developmental Biology. 37 (1): 369–389. doi:10.1146/annurev-cellbio-120319-023657. ISSN 1081-0706. PMID 34196570. S2CID 235698046. Archived from the original on 2022-08-02. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  30. ^ "Archived copy". www.hhmi.ucla.edu. Archived from the original on 2017-07-08. Retrieved 2022-10-02.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  31. ^ De Robertis, Edward M.; Moriyama, Yuki; Colozza, Gabriele (September 2017). "Generation of animal form by the Chordin/Tolloid/BMP gradient: 100 years after D'Arcy Thompson". Development, Growth & Differentiation. 59 (7): 580–592. doi:10.1111/dgd.12388. PMID 28815565. S2CID 22076923.
  32. ^ "Sorbonne Université". Archived from the original on 2016-09-21. Retrieved 2016-08-15.
  33. ^ Carrasco, A. E.; McGinnis, W.; Gehring, W. J.; De Robertis, E. M. (June 1984). "Cloning of an X. laevis gene expressed during early embryogenesis coding for a peptide region homologous to Drosophila homeotic genes". Cell. 37 (2): 409–414. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(84)90371-4. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 6327066. S2CID 30114443. Archived from the original on 2020-07-21. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  34. ^ Poli, Stefano; Facchin, Domenico; Rizzetto, Francesca; Rebellato, Luca; Daleffe, Elisabetta; Toniolo, Mauro; Miconi, Antonella; Altinier, Alessandro; Lanera, Corrado; Indrigo, Stefano; Comisso, Jennifer; Proclemer, Alessandro (2019-01-08). "Prognostic role of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia detected with remote interrogation in a pacemaker population". International Journal of Cardiology. Heart & Vasculature. 22: 92–95. doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2018.12.011. ISSN 2352-9067. PMC 6327066. PMID 30671534.
  35. ^ De Robertis, E. M.; Sasai, Y. (1996-03-07). "A common plan for dorsoventral patterning in Bilateria". Nature. 380 (6569): 37–40. Bibcode:1996Natur.380...37D. doi:10.1038/380037a0. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 8598900. S2CID 4355458. Archived from the original on 2022-06-17. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  36. ^ De Robertis, Edward M.; Tejeda-Muñoz, Nydia (2022-07-01). "Evo-Devo of Urbilateria and its larval forms". Developmental Biology. 487: 10–20. doi:10.1016/j.ydbio.2022.04.003. ISSN 0012-1606. PMID 35443190. S2CID 248234939.
  37. ^ Blum, M.; Gaunt, S. J.; Cho, K. W.; Steinbeisser, H.; Blumberg, B.; Bittner, D.; De Robertis, E. M. (1992-06-26). "Gastrulation in the mouse: the role of the homeobox gene goosecoid". Cell. 69 (7): 1097–1106. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(92)90632-m. ISSN 0092-8674. PMID 1352187. S2CID 16692357. Archived from the original on 2022-01-21. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  38. ^ Sasai, Y.; Lu, B.; Steinbeisser, H.; Geissert, D.; Gont, L. K.; De Robertis, E. M. (1994-12-02). "Xenopus chordin: a novel dorsalizing factor activated by organizer-specific homeobox genes". Cell. 79 (5): 779–790. doi:10.1016/0092-8674(94)90068-x. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 3082463. PMID 8001117.
  39. ^ Piccolo, S.; Sasai, Y.; Lu, B.; De Robertis, E. M. (1996-08-23). "Dorsoventral patterning in Xenopus: inhibition of ventral signals by direct binding of chordin to BMP-4". Cell. 86 (4): 589–598. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80132-4. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 3070603. PMID 8752213.
  40. ^ Piccolo, S.; Agius, E.; Lu, B.; Goodman, S.; Dale, L.; De Robertis, E. M. (1997-10-31). "Cleavage of Chordin by Xolloid metalloprotease suggests a role for proteolytic processing in the regulation of Spemann organizer activity". Cell. 91 (3): 407–416. doi:10.1016/s0092-8674(00)80424-9. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 3070600. PMID 9363949.
  41. ^ Lee, Hojoon X.; Ambrosio, Andrea L.; Reversade, Bruno; De Robertis, E. M. (2006-01-13). "Embryonic dorsal-ventral signaling: secreted frizzled-related proteins as inhibitors of tolloid proteinases". Cell. 124 (1): 147–159. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2005.12.018. ISSN 0092-8674. PMC 2486255. PMID 16413488.
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