H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute

Faculty Rank:

Associate Member

USF Affiliations/College Department:

• Medicine / Oncologic Sciences
• Medicine / Molecular Medicine

Research Interests:

Depending on the biological context manipulation of the
activity of individual members of the E2F family may promote proliferation, may
induce growth arrest or may drive programmed cell death.  The Cress laboratory is focused on
understanding the structure, function and regulation of the E2F family
expecting that this information will provide a greater understanding of cancer
biology and will inform improved cancer therapeutic approaches.  One area of focus in the Cress lab is to
understand a variety of negative feedback loops that retrain E2F1’s
death-inducing activity and thus limit chemotherapeutic efficacy of many drugs.
 A second area of focus is the
identification, development and characterization of novel small molecules that
target various steps of the E2F pathway.  A final area of focus is to understand the mechanism that regulate the
expression and biological activity of E2F4 a pro-survival member of the E2F
family who’s depletion can significantly increase the efficacy of number of
stand chemotherapeutic drugs.  

Publications:

1. Ma Y, Chen L, Wright GM, Pillai SR, Chellappan SP, Cress WD. CDKN1C negatively regulates RNA polymerase II C-terminal domain phosphorylation in an E2F1-dependent manner. J Biol Chem. 2010 Jan;. Pubmedid: 20106982.   Pubmed ID: 20106982

2. Corsino P, Horenstein N, Ostrov D, Rowe T, Law M, Barrett A, Aslanidi G, Cress WD, Law B. A novel class of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors identified by molecular docking act through a unique mechanism. J Biol Chem. 2009 Oct;284(43):29945-29955. Pubmedid: 19710018.   Pubmed ID: 19710018

3. Freeman SN, Ma Y, Cress WD. Rhobtb2 (DBC2) is a mitotic E2F1 target gene with a novel role in apoptosis. J Biol Chem. 2008 Jan;283(4):2353-2362. Pubmedid: 18039672.   Pubmed ID: 18039672

4. He L, Yang H, Ma Y, Pledger WJ, Cress WD, Cheng JQ. Identification of Aurora-A as a direct target of E2F3 during G2/M cell cycle progression. J Biol Chem. 2008 Nov;283(45):31012-31020. Pubmedid: 18776222.   Pubmed ID: 18776222

5. Ma Y, Kurtyka C, Boyapalle S, Sung S, Lawrence H, Guida W, Cress W. A small-molecule E2F inhibitor blocks growth in a melanoma culture model. Cancer Res. 2008 Aug;68(15):6292-6299. Pubmedid: 18676853.   Pubmed ID: 18676853

6. Niu G, Briggs J, Deng J, Ma Y, Lee H, Kortylewski M, Kujawski M, Kay H, Cress WD, Jove R, Yu H. Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 is required for hypoxia-inducible factor-1alpha RNA expression in both tumor cells and tumor-associated myeloid cells. Mol Cancer Res. 2008 Jul;6(7):1099-1105. Pubmedid: 18644974. Pmcid: PMC2775817.   Pubmed ID: 18644974

7. Ma Y, Cress W. Transcriptional upregulation of p57 (Kip2) by the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor BMS-387032 is E2F dependent and serves as a negative feedback loop limiting cytotoxicity. Oncogene. 2007 May;26(24):3532-3540. Pubmedid: 17173074.   Pubmed ID: 17173074

8. Wang C, Rauscher FJ 3rd, Cress W, Chen J. Regulation of E2F1 function by the nuclear co-repressor KAP-1. J Biol Chem. 2007 Oct;282(41):29902-9. Pubmedid: 17704056.   Pubmed ID: 17704056

9. Rodriguez JM, Glozak MA, Ma Y, Cress WD. Bok, Bcl-2 related ovarian killer, is cell cycle regulated and sensitizes to stress-induced apoptosis. J Biol Chem. 2006 Aug;281(32):22729-22735. Pubmedid: 16772296.   Pubmed ID: 16772296

10. Wang C, Chen L, Hou X, Li Z, Kabra N, Ma Y, Nemoto S, Finkel T, Gu W, Cress WD, Chen J. Interactions between E2F1 and SirT1 regulate apoptotic response to DNA damage. Nat Cell Biol. 2006 Sep;8(9):1025-1031. Pubmedid: 16892051.   Pubmed ID: 16892051

11. Bepler G, Zheng Z, Gautam A, Sharma S, Cantor A, Cress W, Kim Y, Rosell R, McBride C, Robinson L, Sommers E, Haura E. Ribonucleotide reductase M1 gene promoter activity, polymorphisms, population frequencies, and clinical relevance. Lung Cancer. 2005 Feb;47(2):183-192. Pubmedid: 15639717.   Pubmed ID: 15639717

12. Freeman S, Bepler G, Haura E, Sutphen R, Cress W. Re: Prognostic significance of a short sequence insertion in the MCL-1 promoter in chronic lymphocytic leukemia. J Natl Cancer Inst. 2005 Jul;97(14):1088-9. Pubmedid: 16030308.   Pubmed ID: 16030308

13. Niu G, Wright KL, Ma Y, Wright GM, Huang M, Irby R, Briggs J, Karras J, Cress WD, Pardoll D, Jove R, Chen J, Yu H. Role of Stat3 in regulating p53 expression and function. Mol Cell Biol. 2005 Sep;25(17):7432-7440. Pubmedid: 16107692.   Pubmed ID: 16107692

14. Wang C, Hou X, Mohapatra S, Ma Y, Cress WD, Pledger WJ, Chen J. Activation of p27Kip1 Expression by E2F1. A negative feedback mechanism. J Biol Chem. 2005 Apr;280(13):12339-12343. Pubmedid: 15713665.   Pubmed ID: 15713665

15. Haura EB, Cress WD, Chellappan S, Zheng Z, Bepler G. Antiapoptotic signaling pathways in non-small-cell lung cancer: biology and therapeutic strategies. Clin Lung Cancer. 2004 Sep;6(2):113-122. Pubmedid: 15476597.   Pubmed ID: 15476597

16. Ma L, Agrawal D, Haura E, Cress WD, Pledger WJ, Hauser P. Efficient down-regulation of cyclin A-associated activity and expression in suspended primary keratinocytes requires p21(Cip1). Mol Cancer Res. 2004 Feb;2(2):96-104. Pubmedid: 14985466.   Pubmed ID: 14985466

17. Ma Y, Freeman S, Cress W. E2F4 deficiency promotes drug-induced apoptosis. Cancer Biol Ther. 2004;3(12):1262-1269. Pubmedid: 15611646.   Pubmed ID: 15611646

18. Savell J, Ma Y, Morrow KS, Jove R, Olashaw N, Moseley PL, Cress WD, Wharton W. AG490 inhibits G1-S traverse in BALB/c-3T3 cells following either mitogenic stimulation or exogenous expression of E2F-1. Mol Cancer Ther. 2004 Feb;3(2):205-213. Pubmedid: 14985461.   Pubmed ID: 14985461

19. Wang J, Gamsby J, Highfill S, Mora L, Bloom G, Yeatman T, Pan T, Ramne A, Chodosh L, Cress W, Chen J, Kerr W. Deregulated expression of LRBA facilitates cancer cell growth. Oncogene. 2004;23(23):4089-4097. Pubmedid: 15064745.   Pubmed ID: 15064745

20. Ma Y, Cress W, Haura E. Flavopiridol-induced apoptosis is mediated through up-regulation of E2F1 and repression of Mcl-1. Mol Cancer Ther. 2003;2(1):73-81. Pubmedid: 12533675.   Pubmed ID: 12533675

21. Ma Y, Yuan J, Huang M, Jove R, Cress WD. Regulation of the cyclin D3 promoter by E2F1. J Biol Chem. 2003 May;278(19):16770-16776. Pubmedid: 12611887.   Pubmed ID: 12611887

22. Wen YD, Cress WD, Roy AL, Seto E. Histone deacetylase 3 binds to and regulates the multifunctional transcription factor TFII-I. J Biol Chem. 2003;278(3):1841-1847. Pubmedid: 12393887.   Pubmed ID: 12393887

23. Croxton R, Ma Y, Cress W. Differences in DNA binding properties between E2F1 and E2F4 specify repressionof the Mcl-1 promoter. Oncogene. 2002;21(10):1563-1570. Pubmedid: 11896585.   Pubmed ID: 11896585

24. Croxton R, Ma Y, Song L, Haura E, Cress W. Direct repression of the Mcl-1 promoter by E2F1. Oncogene. 2002;21(9):1359-1369. Pubmedid: 11857079.   Pubmed ID: 11857079

25. He Y, Cress W. E2F-3B is a physiological target of cyclin A. J Biol Chem. 2002;277(26):23493-23499. Pubmedid: 11980909.   Pubmed ID: 11980909

26. Ma Y, Croxton R, Moorer R, Cress W. Identification of novel E2F1-regulated genes by microarray. Arch Biochem Biophys. 2002;399(2):212-224. Pubmedid: 11888208.   Pubmed ID: 11888208

27. Cuenca A, Cress W, Good R, Marikar Y, Engelman R. Calorie restriction influences cell cycle protein expression and DNA synthesis during liver regeneration. Exp Biol Med (Maywood). 2001;226(11):1061-1067. Pubmedid: 11743143.   Pubmed ID: 11743143

28. Cress, Jr. W, Seto E. Histone deacetylases, transcriptional control, and cancer. J Cell Physiol. 2000;184(1):1-16. Pubmedid: 10825229.   Pubmed ID: 10825229

29. He Y, Armanious M, Thomas MJ, Cress, Jr. W. Identification of E2F-3B, an alternative form of E2F-3 lacking a conserved N-terminal region. Oncogene. 2000;19(30):3422-3433. Pubmedid: 10918599.   Pubmed ID: 10918599

30. Hu X, Cress, Jr. W, Zhong Q, Zuckerman K. Transforming growth factor beta inhibits the phosphorylation of pRB at multiple serine/threonine sites and differentially regulates the formation of pRB family-E2F complexes in human myeloid leukemia cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 2000;276(3):930-939. Pubmedid: 11027571.   Pubmed ID: 11027571

31. Wharton W, Savell J, Cress WD, Seto E, Pledger WJ. Inhibition of mitogenesis in Balb/c-3T3 cells by Trichostatin A. Multiple alterations in the induction and activation of cyclin-cyclin-dependent kinase complexes. J Biol Chem. 2000 Oct;275(43):33981-33987. Pubmedid: 10945992.   Pubmed ID: 10945992

32. Zhang X, Wharton W, Donovan M, Coppola D, Croxton R, Cress WD, Pledger WJ. Density-dependent growth inhibition of fibroblasts ectopically expressing p27(kip1). Mol Biol Cell. 2000 Jun;11(6):2117-2130. Pubmedid: 10848633.   Pubmed ID: 10848633

33. Dong F, Cress WD, Agrawal D, Pledger WJ. The role of cyclin D3-dependent kinase in the phosphorylation of pRb2/p130 in mouse BALB/c 3T3 fibroblasts. J Biol Chem. 1998 Mar;273(11):6190-6195. Pubmedid: 9497341.   Pubmed ID: 9497341

34. Flores A, Kassatly R, Cress, Jr. W. E2F-3 accumulation is regulated by polypeptide stability. Oncogene. 1998;16(10):1289-1298. Pubmedid: 9546430.   Pubmed ID: 9546430

35. Tao Y, Kassatly R, Cress, Jr. W, Horowitz J. Subunit composition determines E2F DNA-binding site specificity. Mol Cell Biol. 1997;17(12):6994-7007. Pubmedid: 9372931.   Pubmed ID: 9372931

36. Cress, Jr. W, Nevins J. A role for bent DNA structure in E2F-mediated transcription activation. Mol Cell Biol. 1996;16:2119-2127. Pubmedid: 8628278.   Pubmed ID: 8628278

37. Cress, Jr. W, Nevins J. Interacting domains of E2F1, DP1 and the adenovirus E4 protein. J Virol. 1994;68:4212-4219.  

38. Cress, Jr. W, Johnson J, Nevins J. Genetic analysis of the E2F1 gene distinguishes regulation by Rb, p107 and adenovirus E4. Mol Cell Biol. 1993;13:6314-6325.  

39. Johnson D, Schwarz J, Cress, Jr. W, Nevins J. Expression of transcription factor E2F1 can induce quiescent cells to enter S phase. Nature. 1993;365:349-352.  

40. Cress, Jr. W, Nevins J. Use of the E2F transcription factor by DNA tumor virus regulatory proteins. In: P. J. Farnham, ed. Current topics in microbiology and immunology. 208 ed. Germany. Springer Verlag Berlin Heidelberg; 1996.