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lkh-2.gifLee, Kyung-Hoon, M.D.,Ph.D., Professor

Department of Anatomy, Laboratory for Neuroscience
Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine
Suwon 440-746, Korea
Tel: +82-31-299-6070
Fax: +82-31-299-6089
e-mail: khlee@med.skku.ac.kr

 

Background :

1982 - 1990:

M.D. from College of Medicine, Seoul National University

1990 - 1992:

M.Sc. from Department Anatomy, Seoul National University

1992 - 1996:

Ph.D. from Department of Anatomy, Seoul National University

1995 - 1998:

Instructor / Assistant Professor in Department of Anatomy, College of Medicine, Dankook University

1998 - Present:

Assistant Professor / Associate Professor / Professor in Department of Anatomy, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine

2001 - 2003:

Research Fellow in Department of Neuroscience, College of Medicine and Public health, Ohio State University, United States (Supervisor: Prof. James S. King & Prof. Georgia A. Bishop)

Professional Society:

The Korean Association of Anatomists
The Korean Society for Brain and Neural Science
Society for Neuroscience, U.S.A.

Research Area:

Defining the role of neuropeptides in the development of central nervous system and synaptic plasticity.

Current Research:

Corticotropin releasing factor (CRF) is a 41 amino acid neuropeptide that plays a role in the hypothalamic- pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis related to stress response, as well as in mood disorders and some degenerative brain disorders such as Alzheimer¡¯s disease and Parkinson¡¯s disease. In addition to being present in the stress axis, CRF also is present in neural systems that are involved in regulating motor activity including the cerebellum. In the adult, CRF acts to modulate the physiological responsiveness of neurons to excitatory amino acids. CRF also is present during the development of the cerebellum, at times that precede synaptogenesis. This suggests that during development, CRF has a different role as compared to its modulatory role in the adult.

Our research interests encompass an analysis of possible roles of the CRF in regulating the development of cerebellar neurons and formation of neural circuits. Our hypothesis is that CRF, acting through two different types of receptors, CRF receptor type-I (CRF-R1) and CRF receptor type-II (CRF-R2), functions as a regulatory factor during the formation of cerebellar circuits. We suggest that CRF may have a role in inducing proliferation and/or differentiation of neurons and glial cells in the developing cerebellum, or that it may play a role in cell survival and/or apoptosis in the developing cerebellum. Morphological research techniques including immunohistochemistry, in situ hybridization histochemistry, electron microscopy, are being carried out to more precisely define the role of CRF and its two receptor subtypes in the developing cerebellum. We use fluorescent and confocal microscopes, as well as 3D image analysis system, to analyze morphological research data. We are using primary neuron culture system as well as performing animal experiments, to analyze the cellular mechanisms that mediate the proposed regulatory effects of CRF, alone or in combination with other growth factors, on Purkinje cells, granule cells and astrocytes grown in dispersed cell cultures. Some basic molecular biological research techniques including western blotting, northern blotting, PCR and EIA also are carried out in our laboratory to reach our research goal.

Collaboration:

In collaboration with Dr. James S. King and Dr. Georgia Bishop in the Ohio State University, department of neuroscience, our research also is directed toward understanding the physiological responsiveness of developing cerebellar neurons to CRF and its analogs, as well as defining interactions between CRF and amino acids at different developmental stages.

Techniques:

Students and researchers in my laboratory currently have the opportunity to learn and use the following techniques in their research:

     - Morphological : immunohistochemistry; electron microscopy; confocal microscopy;

         in situ hybridization; 3D image reconstruction and image analysis; histological staining

 techniques.

     - Molecular : primary neuron culture; western blotting; northern blotting; PCR; EIA.

Publications:

  1. Lee KH, Bishop GA, Tian JN, Jang YJ, Bui CB, Nguyen TLX, Ahn JY, King JS. Cellular localization of the full-length isoform of the type 2 corticotropin releasing factor receptor (CRF-R2α) in the postnatal mouse cerebellar cortex. J Neuroscience Research, 2007; 85(9): 1996-2005.
  2. Choi JS, Pham TT, Jang YJ, Bui BC, Lee BH, Joo KM, Cha CI, Lee KH. Corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) and urocortin promote the survival of cultured cerebellar GABAergic neurons through the type 1 CRF receptor. J Korean Med Sci. 2006; 21(3):518-26.
  3. Lee SY, Kim HJ, Park SJ, Yoon HJ, Yoon SH, Lee KH, Lee WD, Lim JH. Optimization of a dilution method for human expanded blastocysts vitrified using EM grids after artificial shrinkage. J Assist Reprod Genet. 2006; 23(2): 87-91.
  4. Xuan Nguyen TL, Choi JW, Lee SB, Ye K, Woo SD, Lee KH, Ahn JY. Akt phosphorylation is essential for nuclear translocation and retention in NGF-stimulated PC12 cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2006; 349(2): 789-98.
  5. Joo KM, Chung YH, Lim HC, Lee KH, Cha CI. Reduced immunoreactivities of a vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide receptor (VPAC1 receptor) in the cerebral cortex, hippocampal region, and amygdala of aged rats. Brain Res. 2005:  1064(1-2): 166-72.
  6. KH Lee, Georgia A. Bishop, Jinbin Tian, James. S. King. Evidence for an axonal localization of the type 2 corticotropin releasing factor receptor during postnatal development of the mouse cerebellum. Experimental Neurology. 2004; 187(1): 11-22.
  7. Madtes P Jr, Lee KH, King JS, Burry RW. Corticotropin releasing factor enhances survival of cultured GABAergic cerebellar neurons after exposure to a neurotoxin. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 2004; 151(1-2):119-28.
  8. Chung YH, Joo KM, Nam RH, Lee WB, Lee KH, Cha CI. Region-specific alterations in insulin-like growth factor-I receptor in the central nervous system of nNOS knockout mice. Brain Res. 2004; 1021(1): 132-9.
  9. Joo KM, Chung YH, Kim MK, Nam RH, Lee BL, Lee KH, Cha CI. Distribution of vasoactive intestinal peptide and pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide receptors (VPAC1, VPAC2, and PAC1 receptor) in the rat brain J Comp Neurol. 2004; 476(4): 388-413.
  10. Chung YH, Joo KM, Kim YS, Lee KH, Lee WB, Cha CI. Enhanced expression of erythropoietin in the central nervous system of SOD1(G93A) transgenic mice. Brain Res. 2004; 1016(2): 272-80.
  11. Chung YH, Joo KM, Shin CM, Lee YJ, Shin DH, Lee KH, Cha CI. Immunohistochemical study on the distribution of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) receptor in the central nervous system of SOD1(G93A) mutant transgenic mice. Brain Res. 2003; 994(2): 253-259.
  12. Kim MJ, Joo KM, Chung YH, Lee YJ, Kim JH, Lee BH, Shin DH, Lee KH, Cha CI. Vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) and VIP mRNA decrease in the cerebral cortex of nNOS knock-out (-/-) mice. Brain Res. 2003; 978(1): 233-240.
  13. Shin DH, Lee HW, Jeon GS, Lee HY, Lee KH, Cho SS. Constitutive expression of c-myb mRNA in the adult rat brain. Brain Res. 2001; 892(1): 203-207.
  14. Shin DH, Lee HY, Lee HW, Lee KH, Lim HS, Jeon GS, Cho SS, Hwang DH. Activation of microglia in kainic acid induced rat retinal apoptosis. Neurosci. Letters. 2000; 292(3): 159-162.
  15. Shin DH, Lee HY, Lee HW, Kim HJ, Lee EJ, Cho SS, Baik SH, Lee KH. In situ localization of p53, bcl-2 and bax mRNAs in rat ocular tissue. Neuroreport. 1999; 10(10): 2165-2167.
  16. Lee KH, Lee HY, Sung YS, Cho SS, Park JB. Expression of Guanine Deamiase in the developing rat brain. Korean Journal of Anatomy. 1999; 32(2): 245-252.