Main Content Area
Physiology Faculty
Life Science III Rm 2081
Email: zzheng57@siumed.edu.
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- PHSL 410B/511B Mammalian Physiology (Endocrinology unit)
- Medical School Year One Physiology Resource Sessions in the Endocrinology, Reproduction and GI (ERG) unit
- Medical School Year One Problem Based Learning Tutor (ERG unit)
A general feature of animals is the differentiation of the two sexes, both morphologically and behaviorally. It is well known that sexually dimorphic development begins at sex determination; in most mammals, male sexual development is established by the activity of a single transcription factor, SRY, that is located on the male-specific Y chromosome and acts as the testis-determination factor. However, most traits that distinguish the two sexes in vertebrates are not directly controlled by the sex-determining genes, rather, they develop secondarily and under the influence of the sex-specific hormones like androgen and estrogen. Male-specific traits, such as deer antlers, wattles of some bird species, swordtail fish's sword are regulated by testosterone or testosterone derivatives, whereas female-specific traits, such as mammary gland development in mammals and the suppression of colored plumage in some birds, are regulated by estrogen. Although the regulation of developmental control genes by steroid receptors is essential for the formation of sexually dimorphic traits, the identity of the target genes that control development of these specific traits remains largely unknown.
My research is applying the power of mouse genetics and genomics to problems of sexual differentiation in order to understand when, where and how sex steroids and their receptors interact with developmental gene networks to regulate sexually dimorphic development. In addition to my studies using mouse models, I have a strong interest to understand the developmental basis of sexual dimorphism in ecologically and evolutionarily interesting species. Here I describe 3 research interests.
1, Sexual dimorphic development of external genitalia: try to understand mechanism of congenital penile anomalies.
2, To understand how prenatal steroid hormone activity regulates sexually dimorphic limb and brain development and behavior.
3, Environmental regulation of sexual differentiation: role of environmental endocrine disrupting chemicals (e.g. in food and herbs) on sexually dimorphic organ development.
Tan H, Wu G, Wang S, Lawless J, Sinn A, Chen D, Zheng Z. Prenatal exposure to atrazine induces cryptorchidism and hypospadias in F1 male mouse offspring. Birth Defects Res. 2021 Apr 1;113(6):469-484. doi: 10.1002/bdr2.1865. Epub 2021 Jan 19.
Chang J, Wang S, Zheng Z. Etiology of Hypospadias: A Comparative Review of Genetic Factors and Developmental Processes Between Human and Animal Models. Res Rep Urol. 2020 Dec 24;12:673-686. doi: 10.2147/RRU.S276141. eCollection 2020.
Wang S, Lawless J, Zheng Z. Prenatal low-dose methyltestosterone, but not dihydrotestosterone, treatment induces penile formation in female mice and guinea pigs. Biol Reprod. 2020 May 26;102(6):1248-1260. doi: 10.1093/biolre/ioaa035.
Wang S, Zheng Z. Insights Figure for "Differential cell proliferation and cell death during the urethral groove formation in guinea pig model". Pediatr Res. 2019 Oct;86(4):546. doi: 10.1038/s41390-019-0462-0. Epub 2019 Jun 18.
Wang S, Zheng Z. Differential cell proliferation and cell death during the urethral groove formation in guinea pig model. Pediatr Res. 2019 Oct;86(4):452-459. doi: 10.1038/s41390-018-0236-0. Epub 2018 Nov 22.
Wang S, Shi M, Zhu D, Mathews R, Zheng Z. External Genital Development, Urethra Formation, and Hypospadias Induction in Guinea Pig: A Double Zipper Model for Human Urethral Development. Urology. 2018 Mar;113:179-186. doi: 10.1016/j.urology.2017.11.002. Epub 2017 Nov 16.
Zhu D, Wang S, Lawless J, He J, Zheng Z. Dose Dependent Dual Effect of Baicalin and Herb Huang Qin Extract on Angiogenesis. PLoS One. 2016 Nov 30;11(11):e0167125. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167125. eCollection 2016.
Armfield BA, Seifert AW, Zheng Z, Merton EM, Rock JR, Lopez MC, Baker HV, Cohn MJ. Molecular Characterization of the Genital Organizer: Gene Expression Profile of the Mouse Urethral Plate Epithelium. J Urol. 2016 Oct;196(4):1295-302. doi: 10.1016/j.juro.2016.04.091. Epub 2016 May 9.
Chen D, Kannan K, Tan H, Zheng Z, Feng YL, Wu Y, Widelka M. Bisphenol Analogues Other Than BPA: Environmental Occurrence, Human Exposure, and Toxicity-A Review.
Environ Sci Technol. 2016 Jun 7;50(11):5438-53. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.5b05387. Epub 2016 May 17.
Zheng Z, Armfield BA, Cohn MJ. Timing of androgen receptor disruption and estrogen exposure underlies a spectrum of congenital penile anomalies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2015 Dec 29;112(52):E7194-203. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1515981112. Epub 2015 Nov 23.
Armfield BA, Zheng Z, Bajpai S, Vinyard CJ, Thewissen J. Development and evolution of the unique cetacean dentition. PeerJ. 2013 Feb 19;1:e24. doi: 10.7717/peerj.24. Print 2013.
Zheng Z*, Guan H, Leal F, Grey PH, Oppenheimer DG*. Mediator subunit18 controls flowering time and floral organ identity in Arabidopsis. PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e53924. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0053924. Epub 2013 Jan 11. (*Corresponding author).
Zheng Z, Cohn MJ. Developmental basis of sexually dimorphic digit ratios.
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2011 Sep 27;108(39):16289-94. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1108312108. Epub 2011 Sep 6.
Guan H, Zheng Z, Grey PH, Li Y, Oppenheimer DG. Conservation and divergence of plant LHP1 protein sequences and expression patterns in angiosperms and gymnosperms.
Mol Genet Genomics. 2011 May;285(5):357-73. doi: 10.1007/s00438-011-0609-0. Epub 2011 Mar 18.
Seifert AW#, Zheng Z#, Ormerod BK, Cohn MJ. Sonic hedgehog controls growth of external genitalia by regulating cell cycle kinetics. Nat Commun. 2010 Jun 1;1(3):23. doi: 10.1038/ncomms1020. (#Equal contribution).
Wijeratne AJ, Zhang W, Sun Y, Liu W, Albert R, Zheng Z, Oppenheimer DG, Zhao D, Ma H. Differential gene expression in Arabidopsis wild-type and mutant anthers: insights into anther cell differentiation and regulatory networks. Plant J. 2007 Oct;52(1):14-29. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-313X.2007.03217.x. Epub 2007 Jul 30.
Churchman ML, Brown ML, Kato N, Kirik V, Hülskamp M, Inzé D, De Veylder L, Walker JD, Zheng Z, Oppenheimer DG, Gwin T, Churchman J, Larkin JC. SIAMESE, a plant-specific cell cycle regulator, controls endoreplication onset in Arabidopsis thaliana. Plant Cell. 2006 Nov;18(11):3145-57. doi: 10.1105/tpc.106.044834. Epub 2006 Nov 10.
Kirik V, Lee MM, Wester K, Herrmann U, Zheng Z, Oppenheimer D, Schiefelbein J, Hulskamp M. Functional diversification of MYB23 and GL1 genes in trichome morphogenesis and initiation. Development. 2005 Apr;132(7):1477-85. doi: 10.1242/dev.01708. Epub 2005 Feb 23
Park SO, Zheng Z, Oppenheimer DG, Hauser BA. The PRETTY FEW SEEDS2 gene encodes an Arabidopsis homeodomain protein that regulates ovule development.
Development. 2005 Feb;132(4):841-9. doi: 10.1242/dev.01654. Epub 2005 Jan 19.
Wang S, Zheng Z*, Weng Y, Yu Y, Zhang D, Fan W, Dai R, Hu Z. Angiogenesis and anti-angiogenesis activity of Chinese medicinal herbal extracts. Life Sci. 2004 Apr 2;74(20):2467-78. doi: 10.1016/j.lfs.2003.03.005. (*Corresponding author).