Associate Professor (
Bioengineering)
VBRB rm. 271
E-Mail:
wdong@vetmed.wsu.edu
Phone:(509)335-5798
Fax: (509)335-4650
Research Focus
Cardiac Muscle Biology and Mechanics; Protein Chemistry and
Engineering; Fluorescence Technique Development; Biosensor Design and
Engineering for Biological and Cellular Applications and Fluorescent
Material Developments.
Postdoctoral and Ph.D. Graduate Students
Rong (Claire) Cui
Daniel Rieck
King Lun (Allen) Li
Zhiqun (Cindy) Zhou |
Bennett Rieck
Tom Jacroux
Yilin Li
William Schlecht |
Visiting Scholars and Undergraduate Student Assistants
Zhipeng Li
Ashwin Murali |
Qingwen Shi
Yang Wang |
There is a postdoctoral/research associate
position available. To apply send the letter of inquiry and CV to Wen-Ji
Dong at
wdong@vetmed.wsu.edu.
Research Interests
Research in my lab is multi-disciplinary. The primary objective of
our research is to understand the Ca2+ switching mechanism of cardiac
myofilament in healthy and diseased hearts. Cardiac muscle contraction
is initiated by Ca2+ binding to cardiac troponin C triggering a series
of functional structural changes within the thin filament. These serious
structural transitions are regulated by both Ca2+ binding and
cross-bridge cycling, and modulated by protein phosphorylation and
cardiomyopathy mutations. A full understanding of these mechanisms is
critical for research efforts to prevent, diagnose, and treat myocardial
diseases. In our research we use various fluorescence spectroscopic
approaches, including FRET, to acquire detailed functional, structural,
thermodynamic, and kinetic knowledge associated with those thin filament
structural transitions at the level of single regulatory unit, the fully
reconstituted thin filament preparations and the chemically skinned
muscle fibers. These studies will provide insights into mechanistic
alterations of cardiac regulation in diseased heart, which may
ultimately lead to design a fluorescence assay to screen drug candidates
of Ca2+ sensitizer, a promising therapeutic drug for treatment of heart
failure.
The second objective of our research is to design an ultra-sensitive
assay to establish PKA-phosphorylated cTnI (p-cTnI) in blood serum
samples as potential cardiac biomarker for early heart disease
detection. Evidences suggest that level of p-cTnI in end stage failed
hearts is much lower than the level in healthy hearts. Therefore, the
ratio of p-cTnI to the total cTnI in a patient’s blood could be a
predictive biomarker to monitor cardiac disease development. However,
the p-cTnI in serum sample is difficult to measure because of its
ultra-low concentration. To circumvent the problem, we implement
multiple signaling amplifications into microchip and immuno-PCR assay
designs to enhance assay sensitivity. It is expected that these assays
will enable us to establish p-cTnI as novel biomarker for early heart
disease detection.
We are also interested in new technology developments. These include
developments of fast mixing techniques for fast kinetic study of
biological system; novel fluorescent material synthesis for probe and
wavelength shifting applications; and novel bioassay designs. Students
and postdoctoral trainees in my lab are exposed to the researches of
cardiovascular systems; protein biochemistry and engineering; molecular
biology techniques; design and fabrication of nanoparticles and
microchips; and modeling cardiac myofilament activation and
deactivation; as well as applications of fluorescence spectroscopy
techniques to sensor construction and bioassay design.
Biographical Information
Dr. Dong received a B.S. in chemistry in 1982, an M.S. in inorganic
chemistry in 1985 from Lanzhou University, P.R. China. He received a
scholarship from British Council of United Kingdom for studies at the
University of London, England and obtained a Ph.D. in physical chemistry
in 1992. From 1993-1994 he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Department
of Chemistry of the University of Western Ontario, Canada. He moved to
the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he was a Research Fellow
of the Muscular Dystrophy Association from 1994 -1996; a Research
Instructor from 1996-2001; and a Research Assistant Professor from 2001-
2005. He joined the faculty of Washington State University as an
Assistant Professor in the Gene and Linda Voiland School of Chemical
Engineering and Bioengineering and IPN in 2006 and was promoted to
Associate Professor in 2010.
Selected Publications (click on most recent titles for link to full
articles)
Structural Dynamics of C-Domain of
Cardiac Troponin I Protein in
Reconstituted Thin Filament.
Zhou Z, Li KL, Rieck D, Ouyang Y,
Chandra M, Dong WJ.
J Biol Chem. 287(10):7661-74, 2012
Synthesis and Characterizations of
Benzothiadiazole-Based Fluorophores as
Potential Wavelength-Shifting Materials
Yilin Li, Louis Scudiero, Tianhui Ren,
Wen-Ji Dong
J Photochem. Photobiol. A: Chemistry,
231(1); 51-59, 2012
A New Fabrication
Technique to form Complex Polymethylmethacrylate Microchannel for
Bioseparation.
Jubery TZ, Hossan MR, Bottenus DR, Ivory CF, Dong WJ, Dutta P.
Biomicrofluidics. 2012
Mar;6(1):16503-1650313. Epub 2012 Feb 10.
Preconcentration and Detection of the
Phosphorylated Forms of Cardiac Troponin
I in a Cascade Microchip by Cationic
Isotachophoresis.
Bottenus D, Hossan MR, Ouyang Y, Dong WJ,
Dutta P, Ivory CF.
Lab Chip. 11(22):3793-801, 2011
Enhanced Fluorescence Anisotropy Assay
for Human Cardiac Troponin I and T
Detection.
Qiao Y, Tang H, Munske GR, Dutta P,
Ivory CF, Dong WJ.
J Fluoresc. 21(6):2101-10, 2011
10,000-Fold Concentration Increase of
the Biomarker Cardiac Troponin I in a
Reducing Union Microfluidic Chip Using
Cationic Isotachophoresis.
Bottenus D, Jubery TZ, Ouyang Y, Dong WJ,
Dutta P, Ivory CF.
Lab Chip. 11(5):890-8, 2011
Model Representation of the Nonlinear
Step Response in Cardiac Muscle.
Ford SJ, Chandra M, Mamidi R, Dong W,
Campbell KB.
J Gen Physiol. 136(2):159-77, 2010
Structural and Kinetic Effects Of PAK3
Phosphorylation Mimic of cTnI(S151E) on
the cTnC-cTnI Interaction in the Cardiac
Thin Filament.
Ouyang Y, Mamidi R, Jayasundar JJ,
Chandra M, Dong WJ.
J Mol Biol. 400(5):1036-45, 2010
Frster Resonance Energy Transfer
Structural Kinetic Studies of Cardiac
Thin Filament Deactivation.
Xing J, Jayasundar JJ, Ouyang Y, Dong WJ.
J Biol Chem. 284(24):16432-41, 2009
Structural Kinetics of Cardiac Troponin
C Mutants Linked to Familial
Hypertrophic and Dilated Cardiomyopathy
in Troponin Complexes.
Dong WJ, Xing J, Ouyang Y, An J, Cheung
HC.
J Biol Chem. 283(6):3424-32, 2008
The Cardiac Ca2+-Sensitive Regulatory
Switch, a System in Dynamic Equilibrium.
Robinson JM, Cheung HC, Dong W
Biophys J. 95(10):4772-89, 2008 Nov 15
Effects of PKA Phosphorylation of
Cardiac Troponin I and Strong
Crossbridge on Conformational
Transitions of the N-Domain of Cardiac
Troponin C in Regulated Thin Filaments.
Dong WJ, Jayasundar JJ, An J, Xing J,
Cheung HC.
Biochemistry. 46(34):9752-61, 2007
Structural Transition of the Inhibitory
Region of Troponin I Within the
Regulated Cardiac Thin Filament.
Dong WJ, An J, Xing J, Cheung HC.
Arch Biochem Biophys. 456(2):135-42,
2006
Effects of PKA Phosphorylation of
Cardiac Troponin I and Strong
Crossbridge on Conformational
Transitions of the N-Domain of Cardiac
Troponin C in Regulated Thin Filaments.
Dong WJ, Jayasundar JJ, An J, Xing J,
Cheung HC.
Biochemistry. 46(34):9752-61, 2007
Structural Transition of the Inhibitory
Region of Troponin I Within the
Regulated Cardiac Thin Filament.
Dong WJ, An J, Xing J, Cheung HC.
Arch Biochem Biophys. 456(2):135-42,
2006
