Francis Chen

PhD, Cell and Molecular Biology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2022

For my doctoral work, I studied how type 2 immune cytokines: IL-4 and IL-13, regulates the immune niche to facilitate cardiac regeneration in the developing neonatal heart. From this work, I found that loss of these cytokines resulted in the skewing of neonatal immunity away from a Th2-preferred immune milieu, with a reduction in the proportion of tissue-resident, anti-inflammatory macrophages in the heart post-ischemic injury. This reduction in tissue-resident macrophages, coupled with an increase of Th1 over Th2 T cells in the neonatal heart, resulted in a pro-inflammatory microenvironment, with an elevated type 1 interferon response and ROS production which was detrimental to cardiac regeneration and cardiomyocyte survival.  Over the course of my PhD, I also examined the effects of IL-4 on neural progenitor cells derived from patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) lines I established from patients with genetic neurodegenerative diseases such as spinocerebellar ataxia 3 (SCA3).

My long-term research interests revolve around understanding how the immune system contributes to modulating or counteracting aspects of diseases not classically associated with immunity, specifically the interactions between environmental stressors and immune cells in maintaining either tissue or global homeostasis. My present research focus in the Littman lab centers on examining the intricate interplay between antigen presenting cells, the gut microbiota, and T effector cells, and the mechanisms by which these interactions maintain overall physiological homeostasis.

 

Publications:

  1. Chen, F.M.*, Chung, D.L., Mak, A.T.L., Leung, F.P., Chan, H.Y.E., Wong, W.T.* “IL-4/STAT6 axis observed to restore proliferative defect in SCA3 patient derived neural progenitor stem cells”. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. (2023) PMID: 37933553 *co-corresponding author

  2. Li, H., He, C., Zhu, R., Chen, F.M., Wang, L., Leung, F.P., Tian, X.Y., Tse, G., Wong, W.T. “Type 2 cytokines promote angiogenesis in ischemic muscle via endothelial IL-4Ra signaling”. Cell Reports. 42(8):112964 (2023)

  3. Chen, F.M.*, Tse, J.K.Y., Jin, L., Chook, C.Y.B., Leung, F.P., Tse, G., Woo, C.W., Xu, A., Chawla, A., Chan, T., Wong, W.T.* “Type 2 innate immunity drives distinct neonatal immune profile conducive for heart regeneration”. Theranostics. 12(3): 1161-1172 (2022) *co-corresponding author

  4. Chook, C.Y.B., Chen, F.M., Tse, G., Leung, F.P., Wong, W.T. “Crocodile blood supplementation protects vascular function in diabetic mice”. Food Production, Processing and Nutrition. 3(1):1-13 (2021)

  5. Huo, M., Cao, X., Zhang, H., Lau, C.W., Hong, H., Chen, F.M., Huang, Y., Chawla, A., Tian, X.Y. “Loss of myeloid Bmal1 exacerbates hypertensive vascular remodeling through interaction with STAT6 in mice”. Cardiovascular Research. cvab336. (2021)

  6. Tian, Q., Leung, F.P., Chen, F.M., Tian, X.Y., Chen, Z., Tse, G., Ma, S., Wong, W.T. “Butyrate protects endothelial function through PPARd/miR-181b signaling”. Pharmacological Research. 169: 105681 (2021)

  7. Chook, C.Y.B., Chen, F.M., Leung, F.P., Chen, Z.Y., Wong, W.T. “Potential of crocodile blood as a medication and dietary supplement: a systemic review”. Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology. 48(8): 1043-1058 (2021)

  8. Zhang, L., Tian, X.Y., Chan, C., Bai, Q., Cheng, C.K., Chen, F.M., Cheung, M., Yin, B., Yang, H., Yung, W.Y., Chen, Z., Ding, F., Leung, K., Zhang, C., Huang, Y., Wong, J.Y., Choi, C.H.J. “Promoting the delivery of nanoparticles to atherosclerotic plaques by DNA coating”. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces. 11(15):13888-13904 (2019)

  9. Chen, Z.S., Li, L., Peng, S., Chen, F.M., Zhang, Q., An, Y., Lin, X., Li, W., Koon, A.C., Chan, T., Lau, K., Ngo, J.C.K., Wong, W.T., Kwan, K.M., Chan, H.Y.E. “Planar cell polarity gene Fuz triggers apoptosis in neurodegenerative diseases”. EMBO Reports. e5409 (2018)

  10. *Zhichao, L, *Zhaoyue M., Jun, L., Chen, F.M., Wong, W.T., Tse, G., Changbo, Z., Keung, W., Tse, K., Li, R.A., Jiang, L., Yao, X. “TRPV6 protects ER stress-induced apoptosis via ATF6a-TRPV6-JNK pathway in human embryonic stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes”. Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology. 120; 1-11 (2018) *co-authors

  11. Chen, F.M., Tse, G., Ma, S., Sayed, N., Wong, W.T. “Getting to the heart of the matter: a perspective on cardiomyocyte biology”. Annals of Vascular Medicine and Research. 4(4): 1067 (2017)

  12. *Heredia, J., *Mukundan, L., Chen, F.M., Mueller, A.A., Deo, R., Locksley, R.M., Rando, T.A., Chawla, A. “Type 2 innate signals stimulate fibro/adipogenic progenitors to facilitate muscle regeneration”. Cell. 153(2): 376-88 (2013) *co-authors