Licht Laboratory

Epigenetic Regulators as Drivers of Cancer

The sequencing of thousands of cancer genomes has revealed that mutations in genes encoding chromatin regulators, including histone-modifying enzymes, are among the most common alterations in human cancer.

These enzymes may be overexpressed, deleted or affected by gain- or loss-of-function mutations. Our lab studies how histone-modifying enzymes drive the pathogenesis and/or progression of blood malignancies and other cancers. We also study how mutations of histones themselves drive cancer.

Our work leverages a variety of model systems to:

• Understand the mechanism of action of histone-modifying enzymes
• Identify genes and pathways deregulated by mutations of the chromatin regulatory machinery that stimulate cancer development or progression
• Elucidate methods to directly or indirectly target aberrant gene expression patterns with therapeutic intent

Selected Publications

Current as of Jan. 30, 2026

Dhahri H, Lau KH, Saintilnord WN, Lopes E, Damico HN, Hegazy YA, Palma FR, Melters DP, Chandler DP, Dalal TY, Licht JD, Bonini MG, Fondufe-Mittendorf YN. 2026. Single amino-acid differences define H2B variants and modify chromatin accessibility to induce EMT in breast cancer. Oncogene.

Sriramareddy SN, Siddarajappa N, Park JS, Nguyen T, Kunetsov J, Kurtenbach S, Dollar JJ, Adams DJ, Licht JD, Chen YA, Harbour JW, Smalley KSM. Pre-print. GDF15 reprograms the microenvironment to drive the development of uveal melanoma liver metastases. bioRxiv.

Dhahri H, Lau KH, Saintilnord WN, Chandler DP, Lopes E, Damico H, Palma FR, Melters DP, Dalal Y, Licht JD, Bonini MG, Fondufe-Mittendorf Y. Pre-print. Incorporating histone H2B variants into chromatin modifies chromatin accessibility to induce the epithelial to mesenchymal transition in breast cancer. bioRxiv.

Xu X, Liu X, Dollar JJ, Liu X, Jasani N, Posorske B, Sriramareddy SN, Jarajapu V, Kuznetsoff JN, Sinard J, Bennett RL, Licht JD, Smalley KSM, Harbour JW, Yu X, Karreth FA. Pre-print. A multi-step immunecompetent genetic mouse model reveals phenotypic plasticity in uveal melanoma. bioRxiv.

Guo Y, George TJ, Ivey AM, Licht JD, Lipori G, Tan AC, Li L, Webber EC, Scifres CM, Huang K, Haggstrom DA, Lee KP, Patzer RE, Jiang Bian J. 2026. Modernizing data and data science infrastructure as a strategic asset for cancer center. npj Health Sys 3. 

Huang M, Chen Y, Liang C, Narayan OP, Stallings C, Yu M, Traugot C, Li L, Li K, Vo Q, Wang H, Chou YT, Cech L, Parra D, Garzon L, Parsons D, Diaz E, Zhang C, Mackey C, Sussman H, Zmirska I, Chung M, Zhou C, Glynatsis G, Diemann DW, Licht JD, Li C, Kaye FJ, Xie M, Tan Y, Wu L, Givona TG, Guan J, Tang X. 2026. Drug resistant cancer cells show increased nuclear mechanotransduction and mechanically targetable YAP-regulated vulnerability. Biomaterials 329:123920. 

Sobh A, Bonilla E, Riva A, Shirlekar K, Patel A, Li J, Murphy E, McCown C, Spicer T, Nettles K, Licht JD. 2025. The c-terminal to lish (CTLH) E3 ligase complex modulates myeloma glucocorticoid sensitivity by regulating nfkb signaling. Blood 146(Supp 1):2145. 

Lu Y, Dai H, Tang H, Donahoo WT, George TJ, Sun RC, Jiang S, Tan AC, Guo Y, Licht JD, Guo J, Bian J. 2025. Association of glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists with cancer risk in older adults with Type 2 diabetes. Obesity.

Kasap C, Izgutdina A, Patiño-Escobar B, Kang A, Chilakapati N, Akagi N, Johnson H, Rashid T, Werner J, Barpanda A, Geng H, Lin YT, Rampersaud S, Gil-Alós D, Sobh A, Dupéré-Richer D, Wicaksono G, Kawehi Kelii KM, Dalal R, Ramos E, Vijayanarayanan A, Salangsang F, Phojanakong P, Serrano JAC, Zakraoui O, Tariq I, Steri V, Shanmugam M, Boise LH, Kortemme T, Stieglitz E, Licht JD, Karlon WJ, Barwick BG, Wiita AP. 2025. Targeting high-risk multiple myeloma genotypes with optimized anti-CD70 CAR-T cells. Blood 146(7):819–833. 

Berardi A, Kaestner CL, Quilici G, Cocomazzi P, Li J, Ballabio F, Knapp S, Ghitti M, Licht JD, Musco G. 2024. The C-terminal PHDvC5HCH tandem domain of NSD2 is a combinatorial reader of unmodified H3K4 and tri-methylated H3K27 that regulates transcription of cell adhesion genes in multiple myeloma. Nuc Acids Res 53(1):gkae1121.

Han S, Tushosk GW, Pan P, Zheng G, Zhou D, Huo Z, Licht JD, George T, Allegra C, Hughes SJ. 2024. A novel regimen for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma targeting MEK, BCL-xL, and EGFR/HER. Neoplasia 59:101070.

Wang T-C, Sawhney S, Morgan D, Bennett RL, Rashmi R, Estecio MR, Brock A, Singh I, Baer CF, Licht JD, Lele TP. 2024. Genomic heterogeneity drives mechanical adaptation in human tumor cells. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 121(39):e2403062121.  

Dupéré-Richer D, Riva A, Maji S, Barwick BG, Román HC, Sobh A, Quickstad G, Li J, De U, Piper C, Kulis M, Ezponda T, Martin-Subero JI, Tonon G, Zhang W, Mitsiades CS, Boise LH, Bennett RL, Licht JD. 2024. KDM6A regulates immune response genes in multiple myeloma. Blood 144(14):1508–1520. 

Nie DY, Tabor JR, Li J, Kutera M, St-Germain J, Wolf E, Paulakonis E, Kenney T, Duan S, Shrestha S, Owens D, Pon A, Szewczyk M, Li F, Vedadi M, Barsyte-Lovejoy D, Brown NG, Wilson DJ, Raught B, Licht JD, James LI, Arrowsmith CH. 2024. Recruitment of FBXO22 for targeted degradation of NSD2. Nat Chem Biol 20(12):1597–1607.

Sobh A, Encinas E, Patel A, Surapaneni G, Bonilla E, Kaestner C, Janai J, Clerio M, Vasan K, Freeman T, Lv D, Dupéré-Richér D, Riva A, Barwick BG, Zhou D, Boise LH, Mitsiades CS, Kim B, Bennett RL, Chandel NS, Licht JD. 2024. NSD2 overexpression drives multiple myeloma dependence on adenylate kinase 2 by diverting one-carbon metabolism to the epigenome. Blood 144(3):283–295.

Emmons MF, Bennett RL, Riva A, Zhang C, Macaulay R, Dupéré-Richér D, Fang B, Seto E, Koomen JM, Li J, Chen YA, Forsyth PA, Licht JD, Smalley KSM. 2023. HDAC8-mediated inhibition of EP300 drives a neural crest-like transcriptional state that increases melanoma brain metastasis. Nat Commun 14:7759.

Morozo VM, Riva A, Sarwar S, Kim W, Li J, Zhou L, Licht JD, Daaka Y, Ishov AM. 2023. HIRA-mediated loading of histone variant H3.3 controls androgen-induced transcription by regulation of AR/BRD4 complex assembly at enhancers. Nuc Acids Res 51(19):10194 –10217.  

Nigam N, Bernard B, Kim S, Sevilla S, Tsai D, Dar MS, Burkitt K, Robbins Y, Sievers C, Clint A, Bennett RL, Tettey TT, Carter B, Bao R, Rinaldi L, Lingen MW, Sater H, Edmondson EF, Moshiri A, Saeed A, Cheng H, Luo X, Brennan K, Chen C, Das S, Andresson T, Abdalla, Murali M, Sakata S, Takeuchi K, Nakamura Y, Uppaluri R, Sunwoo JB, Van Waes C, Licht JD, Hager GL, Saloura V. 2023. Epigenetic silencing by SMYD3 represses tumor intrinsic interferon response in HPV-negative squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Cell Rep 42(7):112823. 

de Matos Simoes R, Shirashaki R, Downey-Kopyscinski SL, Matthews GM, Barwick, BG, Gupta VA, Dupéré-Richér D, Yamano S, Hu Y, Sheffer M, Dhimolea E, Dashevsky O, Gandolfi S, Meyers RM, Bryan JG, Dharia NV, Hengeveld PJ, Brüggenthies JB, Tang H, Aguirre AJ, Sievers QL, Ebert BL, Glassner BJ, Ott CJ, Bradner JE, Kwiatkowski NP, Auclair D, Levy J, Keats JJ, Groen RWJ, Gray NS, Culhane AC, McFarland JM, Dempster JM, Licht JD, Boise LH, Hahn WC, Vazquez F, Tsherniak A, Mitsiades CS. 2023. Genome-scale functional genomics studies identify genes preferentially essential for myeloma cells vs. other neoplasias. Nat Cancer 5:754–773. 

Kellish PC, Dib PE, Barrigon MV, Paciaroni NG, Nawab A, Andring J, Kulemina L, Borrero NV, Modenuti C, Bennett R, Shabashvili D, Licht JD, McKenna R, Roitberg R, R Huigens III RW, Kaye FJ, Zajac-Kaye M. 2023. Targeting thymidylate synthase inhibition by multifunctional non-classical antifolates inhibits tumor progression and extends survival. JCI Insight e158798. 

Hanley RP, Nie DY, Tabor JR, Li F, Sobh A, Xu C, Barker NK, Dilworth D, Hajian T, Gibson E, Szewczyk MM, Brown PJ, Barsyte-Lovejoy D, Herring LE, Wang GG, Licht JD, Vedadi M, Arrowsmith CH, James LI. 2023. Discovery of a potent and selective targeted NSD2 degrader for reduction of H3K36me2. J Am Chem Soc 145(14):8176–8188.

Zhang D, Spiropoulos KA, Wijayabahu A, Christou DD, Karanth SD, Anton SD, Leeuwenburgh C, Liang M, Wheeler M, Yang D, Livingstone AP, Mankowski RT, Cheng TD, Zhang H, Siegel EM, Penedo FJ, Licht JD, Braithwaite D. 2023. Low muscle mass is associated with a higher risk of all-cause and cardiovascular disease-specific mortality in cancer survivors. Nutrition 107:111934. 

Guo Y, Bian J, Chen Z, Foshe J, Zhang D, Braithwaite D, George T, Shenkman E, Licht JD. 2023. Cancer incidence after asthma diagnosis: Evidence from a large clinical research network in the United States. Cancer Med 12(10):11871–11877. 

Pei J, Xiao Y, Liu X, Wanyi Hu W, Sobh A, Yuan Y, Zhou S, Hua N, G Mackintosh SG, Zhang X, Basso KB, Kamat M, Yang Q, Licht JD, Zheng G, Zhou D, Lyu D. 2023. Piperlongumine conjugates induce targeted protein degradation. Cell Chem Biology 30:203–213.

Hall JM, Szurek SM, Cho H, Guo Y, Gutter MS, Khalil GE, Licht JD, Shenkman EA. 2022. Cancer disparities related to poverty and rurality for 22 top cancers in Florida. Prev Med Rep 29:101922. 

Kaler CJ, Dollar JJ, Cruz AM, Kuznetsoff JN, Sanchez1 MI, Decatur CL, Licht JD, Smalley KSM, Correa ZM, Kurtenbach S, Harbour JW. 2022. BAP1 loss promotes suppressive tumor immune microenvironment via up-regulation of PROS1 in class 2 uveal melanomas. Cancers (Basel) 14(15):3678. 

Zhang D, Leeuwenburgh C, Zhou D, Gong Y, Pahor M, Licht JD, Braithwaite D. 2022. Analysis of biological aging and risks of all-cause and cardiovascular disease–specific death in cancer survivors. JAMA Net Open 5(6):e2218183. 

Sriramareddy SN, Faião-Flores F, Emmons MF, Saha B, Chellappan S, Wyatt C, Smalley I, Licht JD, Durante MA, Harbour JW, Smalley KSM. 2022. HDAC11 activity contributes to MEK inhibitor escape in uveal melanoma. Cancer Gene Ther 29:1840–1846.

Preston SEJ, Emond A, Pettersson F, Dupere-Richer D, Malakhveitchouk A, Dobocan MC, Kinal M, Oros KK, del Rincón A, Licht JD, Miller Jr WH. 2022. Acquired resistance to EZH2 inhibitor GSK343 promotes the differentiation of DLBCL cell lines towards an ABC-like phenotype. Mol Cancer Ther 21:511–521.

Li L, Sheng P, Li T, Fields CJ, Hiers NM, Wang Y, Li J, Guardia CM, Licht JD, Xie M. 2021. Widespread microRNA degradation elements in target mRNAs can assist the encoded protein. Genes Dev 35:1595–1609.

Venugopal K, Nowialis P, Feng Y, Shabashvili DE, Berntsen CM, Krajcik KI, Taragjini C, Zaroogian Z, Casellas Román HL, Posada LM, Gunaratne C, Li J, Dupéré-Richer D, Bennett RL, Pondugula S, Riva AL, Cogle CR, Law BK, Kubicek S, Staber PB, Licht JD, Opavsky R, Bird JE, Guryanova OA. 2021. DNMT3A with leukemia-associated mutations directs sensitivity to DNA damage at replication forks. Clin Cancer Res 28(4):756–769. 

Guo Y, Szurek SM, Bian J, Braithwaite D, Licht JD, Shenkman E. 2021. The role of sex and rurality in cancer fatalistic beliefs and cancer screening utilization in Florida. Cancer Med 10:6048–6057.

Zee BM, Poels, KE Yao C-H, Kawabata KC, Wu G, Duy C, Jacobus WD, Senior E, Endress JE, Jambhekar A, Lovitch SB, Ma J, Dhall A, Harris IS, Blanco MA, Sykes DB, Licht JD, Weinstock DM, Melnick A, Haigis, MC, Michor F, Shi Y. 2021. Combined epigenetic and metabolic treatments overcome differentiation blockade in AML. iScience 25(6):102651.

Hogg SJ, Motorna O, Johanson TM, Coughlan HD, Todorovski I, Pijpers L, Dupéré-Richer D, Kearney C, Breon Feran, Knight D, Cluse LA, Martin BP, Khong T, Spencer A, Harrison SJ, Gregory G, Smyth GK, Allan RS, Papenfuss AT, Bromberg KD, Lai A, Licht JD, Shortt J, Vervoort SJ, Ricky W. Johnstone RW. 2021. Targeting histone acetylation dynamics and oncogenic transcription by catalytic P300/CBP inhibition. Mol Cell 81:2183–2200.

Joos K, Schachner LF, Watson R, Gillespie ZB, Howard SA, Cheek MA, Keogh M-C, Licht JD, Kelleher NL. 2021. Separation and characterization of endogenous nucleosomes by native capillary zone electrophoresis — top-down mass spectrometry. Analyt Chem 93:5151–5160. 

Shirasaki R, Matthews GM, Gandolfi S, de Matos Simoes R, Buckley DL, Raja J, Sievers QL, Brüggenthies JB, Dashevsky O, Poarch H, Tang H, Bariteau MA, Sheffer M, Hu Y, Downey- Kopyscinski SL, Hengeveld PJ, Glassner BJ, Dhimolea E, Ott CJ, Zhang T, Kwiatkowski NP, Laubach JP, Schlossman RL, Richardson PG, Culhane A, Groen RWJ, Fischer ES, Vazquez F, Tsherniak A, Hahn WC, Levy J, Auclair D, Licht JD, Keats J, Boise LH, Ebert BL, Bradner JE, Gray NS, Mitsiades CS. 2021. Functional genomics identify distinct and overlapping genes mediating resistance to different classes of heterobifunctional degraders of oncoproteins. Cell Rep 34:108532.

Longo J, Smirnov P, Li Z, Branchard E, van Leeuwen JE, Licht JD, Haibe-Kains B, Andrews DW, Keats JJ, Pugh TJ, Trudel S, Linda Z. Penn LZ. 2021. The mevalonate pathway is an actionable vulnerability of t(4;14)-positive multiple myeloma. Leukemia 35:796-808.

Yusufova N, Soshnev AA, Kloetgen A, Teater M1, Osunsade A, Doane A, Camarello J, Philips J, Conway J, Bott M, Elemento O, Beguelin W, Licht JD, Kelleher N, Staudt LM, Skoultchi A, Apostolou E, Imilienski M, David Y, Tsirigos A, Allis CD, Cesarman C, Melnick A. 2021. Histone 1 deficiency drives lymphomagenesis through disruption of 3D chromatin architecture. Nature 589:299–305.

Ordoñez R, Kulis M, Russiñol N, Chapaprieta V, Beekman R, Meydan C, Duran-Ferrer M, Verdaguer- Dot N, Clot G, Vilarrasa-Blasi R, Garate L, Miranda E, Carrasco-Leon A, Ezponda T, Dupéré-Richer D, Martens J, Torrents D, El Omri H, Y Taha R, Calasanz M, Paiva B, San Miguel J, Flicek P, Gut I, Melnick A, Mitsiades C, Licht JD, Campo E, Stunnenberg H, Agirre X, Prosper F, Jose Martin-Subero J. 2020. Chromatin activation as a unifying principle underlying pathogenic mechanisms in multiple myeloma. Genome Res 30:1217–1227.

Sheng Y, Yu C, Liu Y, Hu C, Ma R, Lu X, Ji P, Chen J, Mizukawa B, Huang Y, Licht JD, Qian Z. 2020. FOXM1 regulates leukemia stem cell quiescence and survival in MLL-rearranged AML. Nat Commun 11(1):928.

Tamashunas AC, Tocco VJ, Matthews J, Zhang Q, Li G, Paschall L, Pathak S, Stephens AD, Luesch H, Licht JD, Lele TP. 2020. High-throughput gene screen reveals modulators of nuclear shape. Mol Biol Cell 31(13).  

Cheong CM, MroziK KM, Hewett DR, Bell E, Panagopoulos V, Noll JE, Licht JD, Gronthos S, Zannettino AC, Vandyke K. 2020. Twist-1 is upregulated by NSD2 and contributes to tumour dissemination and an epithelial-mesenchymal transition-like gene expression signature in t(4;14)-positive multiple myeloma. Cancer Lett 475:99–108.

Goncalves J, Emmons MF, Faião-Flores F, Aplin AE, Harbour JW, Licht JD, Wink MR, Smalley KSM. 2019. Decitabine limits escape from MEK inhibition in uveal melanoma. Pigment Cell Melan. 

Jiang Y, Gao R, Forbes L, Li J, Freeberg S, Fredenburg KM, Cao C, Justice J, Wu L, Licht JD, Zajac- Kaye M, Kentsis A, Kaye F. 2019. MYB-activated models for testing therapeutic agents for adenoid cystic carcinoma. Oral Oncol 98:147–155.

Bennett RL, Bele A, Small EC, Will CM, Nabet B, Oyer JA, Ghosh RP, Grzybowski AT, Yu T, Zhang Q, Riva A, Lele TP, Schatz GC, Ruthenburg AJ, Liphardt J, Licht JD. 2019. A mutation in histone H2B represents a new class of oncogenic driver. Cancer Disc 10:1438–1451.

Huang X, LeDuc RD, Fornelli L, Schunter AJ, Bennetr RL, Kelleher NL, Licht JD. 2019. Defining the NSD2 interactome: PARP1 PARylation reduces NSD2 histone methyltransferase activity and impedes chromatin binding. J Biol Chem 294:12459–2471.

Faião-Flores F, Emmons M, Durante M, Kinose F, Saha B, Fang B, Koomen J, Chellappan S, Maria-Engler S, Rix U, Licht JD, Harbour JW, Smalley K. 2019. HDAC inhibition enhances the in vivo efficacy of MEK inhibitor therapy in uveal melanoma. Clin Cancer Res 18:5686–570.

Vaquero M, Cuesta S, Anerillas C, Altés G, Ribera J, Basson M, Licht JD, Egea J, Encinas M. 2019. Sprouty1 controls genitourinary development via its N-terminal tyrosine. J Am Soc Nephrol 30:1398–1411.

Emmons MF, Faião-Flores F, Sharma R, Thapa R, Messina JL, Becker JC, Schadendorf D, Seto E, Sondak VK, Koomen JM, Chen YA, Lau EK, Wan L, Licht JD, Smalley KSM. 2019. HDAC8 regulates a stress response pathway in melanoma to mediate escape from BRAF inhibitor therapy. Cancer Res 79:2947–2961.

Alakoski T, Ulvila J, Yrjölä R, Vainio L, Magga J, Szabo Z, Licht JD, Kerkelä R. 2019. Inhibition of cardiomyocyte Sprouty1 protects from cardiac ischemia-reperfusion injury. Basic Res Cardiol 114:7.

Swaroop A, Oyer JA, Will CM, Huang X, Yu W, Troche C, Bulic M, Durham BH, Wen QJ, Crispino JD, MacKerell AD Jr, Bennett RL, Kelleher NL, Licht JD. 2019.  An activating mutation of the NSD2 histone methyltransferase drives oncogenic reprogramming in acute lymphocytic leukemia. Oncogene 38:671–686. 

Li J, Hlavka-Zhang J, Shrimp JH, Piper C, Dupéré-Richér D, Roth JS, Jing D, Román HC, Troche C, Swaroop A, Kulis M, Oyer J, Will C, Shen M, Riva A, Bennett RL, Ferrando AA, Hall MD, Lock RB, Licht JD. 2018. A gain of function mutation of the NSD2 histone methyltransferase drives glucocorticoid resistance in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Cancer Disc 12:186–203.

Kim J, Lee Y, Lu X, Song B, Fong KW, Cao Q, Licht JD, Zhao JC, Yu J. 2018. Polycomb- and methylation-independent roles of EZH2 as a transcription activator. Cell Rep 25(10):2808–2820.e4.

Luo H, Wang F, Li H, Du Q, Yan B, Chen S, Sobh A, Vulpe C, Drusbosky L, Cogle C, Chepelev I, Xu B, Nimer S, Licht JD, Chen B, Qiu Y Xu M, Huang S. 2018. Targeting CTCF boundary remodels chromatin domain and reprograms HOX gene transcription in acute myeloid leukemia. Blood 132 (8):837–848.

Melo-Cardenas J, Xu Y, Wei J, Tan C, Kong S, Gao B, Montauti E, Kirsammer G, Licht JD, Yu J, Ji P, Crispino JD, Fang D. 2018. USP22 deficiency leads to myeloid leukemia upon oncogenic Kras activation through a PU.1 dependent mechanism. Blood 132(4):423–434.

Fantini D, Glaser AP, Rimar K, Wang Y, Schipma M, Varghese N, Rademaker A, Behdad A, Yellapa A, Yu Y, Crawford SE, Hu D, Licht JD, Collings C, Bartom E, Theodorescu D, Shilatifard A, Meeks JJ. 2018. A carcinogen-induced mouse model recapitulates the molecular alterations of human muscle invasive bladder cancer. Oncogene 37:1911–1925.

Tocco VJ, Li Y, Christopher KG, Matthews JH, Aggarwal V, Paschall L, Luesch H, Licht JD, Dickinson RB, Lele TP. 2018. The nucleus is irreversibly shaped by motion of cell boundaries in cancer and non-cancer cells. J Cell Physiol 233:1446–1454.

Yang X, Gong Y, He Q, Licht JD, Liaw L, Friesel RE. 2018. Loss of Spry1 attenuates vascular smooth muscle proliferation by impairing mitogen-mediated changes in cell cycle regulatory circuits. J Cell Biochem 119:3267–3279.

Ezponda T, Varghese N, Patel T, Small EC, Will C, Nabet B, Popovic R, Oyer J, Bulic M, Zheng Y, Huang X, Shah M, Kelleher N, Keats J, Occhionorelli M, Tonon G, Licht JD. 2017. UTX/KDM6A loss enhances the malignant phenotype of multiple myeloma and sensitizes cells to EZH2 inhibition. Cell Rep 21:628–640.

Mahajan N, Wu H-J, Bennett RL, Troche C, Licht JD, Weber JD, Maggi LB Jr, Tomasson MH. 2017. Sabotaging of the oxidative stress response by an oncogenic non-coding RNA. FASEB J 31:482-490.

Dupéré-Richer D, Kinal M, Pettersson F, Emond A, Calvo-Vidal MN, Nichol JN, Guilbert C, Plourde D, Klein Oros K, Nielsen TH, Ezponda T, Licht JD, Johnson NA, Assouline S, Cerchietti L, Miller WH Jr, Mann KK. 2017. Increased protein processing gene signature in HDACi-resistant cells predicts response to proteasome inhibitors. Leuk Lymphoma 58: 218–221.

Schauwecker SM, Kim JJ, Licht JD, Clevenger CV. 2016. Histone H1 and chromosomal protein HMGN2 regulate prolactin-induced STAT5 transcription factor recruitment and function in breast cancer cell. J Biol Chem 292(6):2237–2254. 

Arcipowski KM, Bulic M, Gurbuxani S, Licht JD. 2016. Loss of Mll3 catalytic function promotes aberrant myelopoiesis. PLoS One.

Shah MY, Martinez-Garcia E, Popovic R, Phillip JM, Chambliss AB, Phillip MP, Ezponda T, Small EC, Will C, Neri P, Bahlis NJ, Wirtz D, Licht JD. 2016. MMSET/WHSC1 enhances DNA damage repair and increases resistance to chemotherapeutic agents. Oncogene 35:5905–5915.

Zheng Y, Fornelli L, Compton PD, Sharma S, Canterbury J, Mullen C, Zabrouskov V, Fellers RT, Thomas PM, Licht JD, Senko MW, Kelleher NL. 2016. Unabridged analysis of human histone H3 by differential top-down mass spectrometry reveals hypermethylated proteoforms from MMSET/NSD2 overexpression. Mol Cell Proteomics 15:776–790.

McConnell MJ, Durand L, Langley E, Coste-Sarguet L, Zelent A, Chomienne C, Kouzarides T, Licht JD, Guidez F. 2015. Post transcriptional control of the epigenetic stem cell regulator PLZF by sirtuin and HDAC deacetylases. Epigenetics Chromatin 8(38). 

Nabet B, Ó Broin P, Shieh K, Lin CY Will CM, Popovic R, Ezponda T, Bradner JA, Golden AA, Licht JD. 2015. Deregulation of the Ras-Erk signaling axis modulates the enhancer landscape. Cell Rep 12(8):1300 –1313.

Zhou Z, Gao J, Popovic R, Wolniak K, Parimi V, Winter JN, Licht JD, Chen Y-H. 2015. Strong expression of EZH2 and accumulation of trimethylated H3K27 in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) independent of EZH2 Y641 mutation and cell of origin. Leuk Lymphoma 56:2895–2901.

Saloura V, Cho H-S, Kyiotani K, Alachkar H Zuo Z, Nakakido M, Tsunoda T, Seiwert T, Lingen M, Licht JD, Nakamura Y, Hamamoto RW. 2015. Wolf-Hirschhorn Syndrome Candidate 1 promotes oncogenesis through regulation of NIMA-related-kinase-7 in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. Mol Cancer Res 13:293–304.

Rampal R, Alkalin A, Madzo J Vasanthakumar A, Pronier E, , Patel J, Li Y, Ahn J, Abdel-Wahab O, Shih A, Lu C, Ward PS, Tsai JJ, Hricik T, Li Y, Tosello V, Tallman JE, Zhao X, Daniels D, Dai Q, Ciminio L, Pollyea D, Aifantis I, He C, Fuks F, Tallman MS, Ferrando A, Nimer S, Paietta E, Thompson CB, Licht JD, Mason C, Godley LA, Melnick A, Figueroa ME, Levine RL. 2014.  DNA hydroxymethylation profiling reveals that WT1 mutations result in loss of TET2 function in acute myeloid leukemia. Cell Rep 124 (21):365.

Popovic R, Martinez-Garcia E, Giannopoulou E, Zhang Q, Ezponda T, Shah MY, Zheng Y, Will CM, Small EC, Hua Y, Bulic M, Jiang Y, Carrara M, Calogero RA, Kath W, Kelleher NL, Wang JP, Elemento E, Licht JD. 2014. Histone methyltransferase MMSET alters EZH2 binding and reprograms the myeloma epigenome through global and focal changes in H3K36 and H3K27 methylation. PLoS Genet 10(9):e1004566. 

Choi WI, Yoon JH, Kim MY, Koh DI, Licht JD, Kim K, Hur MW. 2014. Promyelocytic leukemia Zinc finger-retinoic acid receptor α (PLZF-RARα), an oncogenic transcriptional repressor of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 1A (p21WAF/CDKN1A) and tumor protein p53 (TP53) genes. J Biol Chem 289:18641–18656.

Small EC, Xi L, Wang JP, Widom J, Licht JD. 2014. Single cell nucleosome mapping reveals the molecular basis of gene expression heterogeneity. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:E2462–E2471.

Kuracha MR, Siefker E, Licht JD, Govindarajan V. 2013. Spry1 and Spry2 are necessary for eyelid closure. Dev Biol 383:227–238.

Mehrotra S, Sharma B, Joshi S, Kroczynska B, Majchrzak B, Stein BL, McMahon B, Altman JK, Licht JD, Baker DP, Eklund EA, Wickrema A, Verma A, Fish EN, Platanias LC. 2013.  Essential role for the Mnk pathway in the inhibitory effects of Type I interferons on myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) precursors. J Biol Chem 288:23814–22.

Oyer JA, Huang X, Zhen Y, Shim J, Ezponda T, Allegretta M, Okot-Kotbr CI, Patel JP, Melnick A, Levine RL, Ferrando A, MacKerell Jr AD, Kelleher NL, Licht JD, Popovic R. 2013. Point mutation E1099K in MMSET/NSD2 enhances its methyltranferase activity and leads to altered global chromatin methylation in lymphoid malignancies. Leukemia 28:198–201.
*Physical Sciences–Oncology Centers Network. 2013. A physical sciences network characterization of non-tumorigenic and metastatic cells. Sci Rep 3:1449.
*Dr. Licht was a member of the network 

Sullivan LB, Garcia-Martinez E, Nguyen H, Mullen AR, Dufour E, Sudarshan S, Licht JD, Deberardinis RJ, Chandel NS. 2013. The proto-oncometabolite fumarate binds glutathione to amplify ROS-dependent signaling. Mol Cell 51:236–248.

Béguelin W, Popovic R, Teater M, Jiang Y, Bunting K, Garcia M, Shen H, Yang SN; Wang L, Ezponda T, Martinez-Garcia E, ; Zhang H, Zhang Y, Verma S, McCabe M, Ott H, Van Aller G, Kruger R, Liu Y, McHugh C, Scott D, Chung YR, Kelleher N, Shaknovich R, Creasy C, Gascoyne R, Wong K-K, Cerchietti L, Levine R, Abdel-Wahab O, Licht JD*, Elemento O*, Melnick A*. 2013. EZH2 is required for germinal center formation and somatic EZH2 mutations promote lymphoid transformation. Can Cell 23:677–692.
*Co-corresponding author

Ezponda T, Popovic R, Shah MY, Martinez-Garcia E, Zheng Y, Min DJ, Will CM, Neri A, Yu J, Kelleher NL, Licht JD. 2013. The histone methyl transferase MMSET activates TWIST1 to promote an epithelial-mesenchymal transition and invasive properties of prostate cancer. Oncogene 32:2882–2890.

Petruccelli LA, Pettersson F, del Rincon SV, Guilbert C, Licht JD, Miller Jr. WH. 2013. Expression of leukemia-associated fusion proteins increases sensitivity to histone deacetylase inhibitor induced DNA damage and apoptosis. Mol Cancer Ther 12:1591–1604.

Lin X, Rice KL, Buzzai M, Hexner E, Costa FF, Kilpivaara O, Mullally A, Soares MB, Ebert BL, Levine R, Licht JD. 2013. miR-433 is aberrantly expressed in myeloproliferative neoplasms and suppresses hematopoietic cell growth and differentiation. Leukemia 27:344–352.

Sena LA, Li S, Jairaman A, Prakriya M, Ezponda T, Hildeman DA, Wang C-R, Schumacker PT, Licht JD, Perlman H, Bryce PJ, Chandel NS. 2013. Mitochondria are required for antigen-specific T cell activation through ROS signaling. Immunity 38:225–236.

Min DJ, Ezponda T, Kim, MKH, Will CM, Martinez-Garcia E, Popovia R, Basrur V, Elentoba-Johnson K, Licht JD. 2013. MMSET stimulates myeloma cell growth through microRNA-mediated modulation of c- MYC. Leukemia 27:686–694.

Sharma B, Josh S, Sassano A, Majchrzak B, Kaur S, Aggarwal P, Nabet B, Bulic M, Stein BL, McMahon B, Baker DP, Fukunaga R, Altman JK, Licht JD, Fish N, Platanias LC. 2012. Sprouty proteins are negative regulators of interferon (IFN)-signaling and IFN-inducible biological responses. J Biol Chem 287:42352–42360.

Collins SL, Waikman A, Basson MA, Licht JD, Horton MR, Powell JD. 2012. Regulation of CD4+ and CD8+ effector responses by Sprouty-1. PLoS One 7(11):e49801.

Zheng Y, Sweet SMM, Tipton JD, Popovic R, Martinez-Garcia E, Thomas PM, Licht JD, Kelleher NL. 2012. A bidirectional antagonism between histone H3 lysine 27 and 36 determines their combinatorial methylation patterns in vivo. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 109:13549–13554.

Kentsis A, Reed C, Rice KL, Sanda T, Rodig SJ, Tholouli E, Valk P, Delwel R, Ngo V, Kutok JL, Dahlberg SE, Moreau LA, Byers RJ, Christensen JG, Vandewoude G, Licht JD, Kung AL, Staudt LM, Look AT. 2012. Aberrant expression of hepatocyte growth factor induces autocrine activation of MET, providing a novel therapeutic target in acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Med 18:1118–1122.

Hwangpo TA, Jordan D, Premsiriut P, Jayamaran G, Licht JD, Iyengar R, Neves SR. 2012. GRIN modulates Sprouty2 inhibitory effects on MAPK activation by growth factor stimulation. J Biol Chem 287:13674–13685.

Sathyanarayana P, Dev A, Pradeep A, Licht JD, Wojchowski DM. 2012. Spry1 as a novel regulator of erythropoiesis, EPO/EPOR target, and suppressor of JAK2. Blood 119:5522–5531.

Biyashev D, Veliceasa D, Mizgirev I, Redd AL, Licht JD, Revskoy SY, Volpert OV. 2012. miRNA-27b promotes tip cell fate, sprouting and arterial-venous segregation by blocking Notch and Sprouty pathways. Blood 119:2679–2687.

Tefferi A, Abdel-Wahab O, Cervantes F, Crispino JD, Finazzi G, Girodon F, Gisslinger H, Gotlib J, Kiladjian J-J, Levine RL, Licht JD, Mullally A, Odenike T, Pardanani A, Silver RT, Solary E, Mughal T. 2011. Mutations with epigenetic effects in myeloproliferative neoplasms and recent progress in treatment: Proceedings from the 5th International Post-ASH Symposium. Blood Can J 1:e7.

Rice KL, Lin, X, Wolniak K, Ebert BL, Berkofsky-Fessler W, Buzzai M, Sun Y, Xi C, Elkin P , Levine RL, Golub T, Gilliland DG, Crispino JD, Licht JD, Zhang W. 2011. Analysis of genomic aberrations and gene expression profiling identifies novel lesions and pathways in myeloproliferative neoplasms. Blood Can J 1(11):e40. 

Kuracha PR, Burgess D, Siefker E, Cooper J, Licht JD, Robinson, ML, Govindarajan V. 2011. Spry1 and Spry2 are necessary for lens and corneal differentiation. Inves Ophthalmol Vis Sci 52:6887–6897.

Martinez-Garcia E, Popovic R, Min DJ, Sweet SMM, Thomas PM, Zamborg L, Heffner A, Will C, Lamy L, Staudt LM, Levens DL, Kelleher NL, Licht JD. 2011. The MMSET histone methyl transferase switches global histone methylation and alters gene expression in t(4;14) multiple myeloma cells. Blood 117:211–220.

Lagha M, Sato T, Regnault B, Cumano AD, Zuniga A, Licht J, Relaix F, Buckingham M. 2010. Transcriptome analyses based on genetic screens for Pax3 myogenic targets in the mouse embryo. BMC Genom 11:696.

Figueroa ME, Abdel-Wahab O, Lu C, Ward PS, Patel J, Shih A, Li Y, Bhagwat N, Vasanthakumar A, Fernandez HF, Tallman MS, Sun Z, Wolniak K, Peeters JK, Liu W, Choe SE, Fantin VR, Paietta E, Löwenberg B, Licht JD, Godley LA, Delwel R, Valk PJ, Thompson CB, Levine RL, Melnick A. 2010. Leukemic IDH1 and IDH2 mutations result in a hypermethylation phenotype, disrupt TET2 function, and impair hematopoietic differentiation. Can Cell 8:553–567.

Kim, MKH, Min DJ, Rabin M, Licht JD. 2010. Characterization of functional roles of Wilms tumor suppressor WTX and tumor associated WTX mutants. Oncogene 30:832–842.

Akbulut S, Reddi AL, Ambardekar C, Canciani C, Kim MKH, Laura Hix L, Vilimas T, Mason J, Basson MA, Lovatt M, Powell J, Collins S, Quatela S, Phillips M, Licht JD. 2010. Sprouty proteins inhibit receptor-mediated activation of phosphatidylinositol-specific phospholipase C. Mol Biol Cell 21:3487–3496.

Berkofsky-Fessler W, Buzzai M, Kim MKH, Fruchtman S, Najfeld V, Min DJ, Costa FF, Bischof JM, Soares MB, McConnell MJ, Zhang W, Levine R, Gilliland DG, Calogero R, Licht JD. 2010. Transcriptional profiling of polycythemia vera identifies gene expression patterns both dependent and independent from the action of JAK2V617F. Clin Can Res 16:4339–4352.

Gilbert PM, Mouw JK, Unger MA, Lawkins JN, Gbegnon MK, Clemmer VB, Benezra M, Licht JD, Boudreau NJ, Tsai KKC, Welm AL, Feldman MD, Weber BL, Weaver V. 2010. HoxA9 regulates BRCA1 expression to modulate mammary tissue growth and survival. J Clin Invest 120:1535–1550.

Shea KL, Wanyi Xiang W, LaPorta VS, Licht JD, Keller C, Basson MA, Andrew S, Brack AS. 2010. Sprouty1 regulates self-renewal of the adult muscle stem cell pool during regeneration. Cell Stem Cell 6 :117–129.

Michos O, Hyink D, Grieshammer U, D’Agati V, Licht JD, Martin GR, Costantini F. 2010. Kidney development in the absence of Gdnf and Spry1 requires Fgf10. PLOS Genet 6(1):e1000809.

Rice KL, Hormaeche, Doulatov, Flatow J, Grimwade D, Mills KI, Dick JE, Licht JD. 2009. Comprehensive genomic screens identify a role for PLZF-RARalpha as a positive regulator of cell proliferation via direct regulation of c-MYC. Blood 114:5499–5511.

Doulatov S, Notta F, Rice KL, Howell L, Janmohamed S, Iscove N, Zelent A, Licht JD, Dick JE. 2009. Identification of PLZF as a critical switch between human steady-state and cytokine-induced myelopoiesis. Genes Dev 23:2076–2087.

Chi X, Odyssé Michos O, Shakya R, Licht JD, Mendelsohn CL, Costantini F. 2009. Ret-dependent cell rearrangements in the Wolffian duct epithelium initiate ureteric bud morphogenesis. Dev Cell 17:199–209.

Figueroa ME, Skrabanek L, Li Y, Jiemjit A, Fandy T, Paietta E, Tallman MS, Greally JM Carraway H, Licht JD, Gore SD, Melnick AM. 2009. MDS and secondary AML display unique patterns and abundance of aberrant DNA methylation. Blood 114:3448–3458.

Kim MKH, McGarry TJ, Broin PO, Flatow JM, Golden AA-J, Licht JD. 2009. An integrated genome screen identifies the WNT signaling pathway as a major target of WT1. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 106:11154–11159.

Fandy TE, Herman JG, Kerns P, Jiemjit A, Sugar EA, Choi SH, Yang AS, Aucott T, Dauses T, Odchimar-Reissig R, Licht JD, McConnell MJ, Nasrallah C, Kim MK, Zhang W, Sun Y, Murgo A, Espinoza-Delgado I, Oteiza K, Owoeye I, Silverman LR, Gore SD, Carraway HE. 2009. Reversal of promoter methylation is not required for clinical response in patients with myeloid malignancies receiving therapy with combination 5-azacitidine and entinostat. Blood 114:2764–2773.

Xu D, Holko M, Sadler AJ, Scott B, Higashiyama S, Berkofsky-Fessler W, McConnell MJ, Pandolfi PP, Licht JD, Williams BRG. 2009. Promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein regulates interferon-mediated innate immunity. Immunity 30:802–816.

Wen Q, Leung C, Huang Z, Small S, Lakku Reddi A, Licht JD, Crispino JD. 2009. Survivin is not required for the endomitotic cell cycle of megakaryocytes. Blood 114:153–156.

Thum T, Gross C, Fiedler J, Fischer T, Kissler S, Bussen M, Galuppo P, Just S, Rottbauer W, Frantz S, Castoldi M, Soutschek J, Koteliansky V, Rosenwald A, Basson MA, Licht JD, Pena JT, Rouhanifard SH, Muckenthaler MU, Tuschl T, Martin GR, Bauersachs J, Engelhardt S. 2008. MicroRNA-21 contributes to myocardial disease by stimulating MAP kinase signaling in fibroblasts. Nature 456:980–984.

Polo JM, Ci W, Licht JD, Melnick A. 2008. Reversible disruption of BCL6 repression complexes by CD40 signaling in normal and malignant B-cells. Blood 112:644–651.

Morrison DJ, Kim MKH, Berkofsky-Fessler W, Licht JD. 2008. WT1 induction of MKP3 represents a novel mechanism of growth suppression. Mol Can Res 7:1225–1231.

Petrie K, Guidez F, Zhu J, Howell L, Owen G, Chew YP, Parks S, Waxman S, Licht JD, Mitternach S, Zelent A. 2008. Retinoblastoma protein and the leukemia-associated PLZF transcription factor interact to repress target gene promoters. Oncogene 27:5260–5266.

Marango J, Shimoyama M, Nishio H, Meyer JA, Min D-J, Sirulnik, Martinez- Martinez Y, Chesi M, Bergsagel PL, Zhou M-M, Waxman S, Leibovitch BA, Walsh MJ, Licht JD. 2008. The MMSET protein is a histone methyltransferase with characteristics of a transcriptional co-repressor. Blood 111:3145–3154.

Kim MKH, Mason JM, Li C-M, Berkofsky-Fessler W, Choubey D, Grundy PE, Tycko B, Licht JD. 2008. A pathologic link between Wilms tumor suppressor gene, WT1, and IFI16. Neoplasia 10:69–78.

Maekawa T, Sano Y, Shinagawa T, Rahman Z, Sakuma T, Nomura S, Licht JD, Ishii S. 2008. ATF-2 controls transcription of Maspin and GADD45alpha genes independently from p53 to suppress mammary tumors. Oncogene 27:1045–1054.

Gross I, Armant O, Benosman S, de Aguilar JLG, Freund JN, Kedinger M, Licht JD, Gaiddon C, Loeffler JP. 2007. Sprouty2 inhibits BDNF-induced signaling and modulates neuronal differentiation and survival. Cell Death Differ 14:1802–1812.

Denne M, Sauter M, Armbruester V, Licht JD, Roemer K, Mueller-Lantzsch N. 2007. Physical and functional interactions of human endogenous retrovirus proteins Np9 and rec with the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein. J Virol 81:5607–5616.

Bowler T, Kosman D, Licht JD, Pick L. 2006. Computational identification of Ftz/Ftz-F1 downstream target genes. Dev Biol 299:78–90.

Basson MA, Watson-Johnson J, Shakya R, Hyink D, Akbulut S, Costantini FD, Wilson PD, Mason IJ, Licht JD. 2006. Branching morphogenesis of the ureteric epithelium during kidney development is coordinated by the opposing functions of GDNF and Sprouty1. Dev Biol 299:466 –477.

Morrison DJ, English ME, Licht JD. 2005. WT1 induces apoptosis through transcriptional regulation of the pro-apoptotic Bcl-2 family member Bak. Can Res 65:8174–8182.

Takahashi S, Harigae H, Ishii KI, Inomata M, Fujiwara T, Yokoyama H, Ishizawa K, Kameoka J, Licht JD, Sasaki T, Kaku M. 2005. Over-expression of Flt3 induces NF-kB pathway and increases the expression of IL-6. Leuk Res 29:893–899.

Guidez F, Howell, L Isalan M, Cebrat M, Alani RM, Ivins, S, Hormaeche I, McConnell MJ, Pierce S, Cole PA, Licht JD, Zelent A. 2005. Histone acetyltransferase activity of p300 is required for transcriptional repression by the Promyelocytic Leukemia Zinc Finger protein. Mol Cell Biol 25:5552–5566.

Lin W, Jing N, Basson A, Licht JD, Ang S-L. 2005. Synergistic activity of Sef and Sprouty proteins in regulating the expression of Gbx2 in the mid-hindbrain region. Genesis 41:110–115.

Basson MA, Akbulut S, Watson-Johnson J, Simon R, Carroll TJ, Shakya R, Gross I, Martin GR, Lufkin T, McMahon AP, Wilson PD, Costantini FD, Mason IJ, Licht JD. 2005. Sprouty1 is a critical regulator of GDNF/Ret-mediated kidney induction. Dev Cell 8:229–239.

Olsson M, Mason JM, English MA, Licht JD, Ekblom P. 2004. WT1 binding sites in the promoter region of human and mouse nucleoporin 210, a marker for epithelial cells. J Negat Results Biomed 3:7.

Li C-M, Kim CE, Margolin AA, Guo M, Zhu J, Mason JM, Hensle TW, Murty VVVS, Grundy PE, Fearon E, D’Agati V, Licht JD, Tycko B. 2004. CTNNB1 mutations and over-expression of Wnt/beta-catenin target genes in WT1-mutant Wilms tumors. Amer J Path 6:1943–1953.

Polo JM, Dell’Oso T, Ranuncolo SM, Cerchietti L, Beck D, Da Silva GF, Prive GG, Licht JD, Melnick AA. 2004. Specific peptide interference reveals Bcl-6 transcriptional mechanisms and oncogenic role in B cell lymphoma. Nat Med 10:1329–1335.

Guo, G, Morrison DJ, Licht JD, Quaggin SE. 2004. WT1 activates a glomerular-specific enhancer identified from the human nephrin gene. J Amer Soc Nephrol 15 :2851–2856.

Tsavachidou D, Coleman ML, Athanasiadis G, Li S, Licht JD, Olson MF, Weber BL. 2004. SPRY2 is an inhibitor of the Ras/extracellular signal-regulated kinase pathway in melanocytes and melanoma cells with wild-type BRAF but not with the V599E mutant. Can Res 64:5556–5559.

Takahashi S, McConnell MJ, Harigae H, Mitsuo Kaku M Takeshi, Sasaki T, Melnick AM, Licht JD. 2004. The Flt3 internal tandem duplication mutant inhibits the function of transcriptional repressors by blocking interactions with SMRT. Blood 103:4650–4658.

Takahashi S, Harigae H, Kaku M, Sasaki T, Licht JD. 2004. Flt3 mutation activates p21 WAF1/CIP1 gene expression through the action of STAT5. Biochem Biophys Res Commun 316:85–92. 

Chevallier N, Corcoran C Lennon C, Bardwell V, Licht JD, Melnick A. 2004. ETO protein of t(8;21) AML is a corepressor for Bcl-6 B-cell lymphoma oncoprotein. Blood 103(4):1454–1463.

Ahmad KF, Melnick A, Lax S, Bouchard D, Li J, Kiang C-L, Mayer S, Takahashi S, Licht JD, Privé GG. 2003. Mechanism of SMRT corepressor recruitment by the BCL6 BTB domain. Mol Cell  6:1551–1564.

McConnell MJ, Chevallier N, Berkofsky-Fessler W, Giltnane J, Malani RB, Staudt LM, Licht JD. 2003. Growth suppression by acute promyelocytic leukemia-associated protein PLZF is mediated by repression of c-Myc expression. Mol Cell Biol 24:9375–9388.

Gross I, Morrison D, Hyink DP, Georgas K, Milton A. English MA, Hosono S, Wilson PD, Little M, Licht JD. 2003. The receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor Sprouty1 is a target gene of the tumor suppressor WT1 during kidney development. J Biol Chem 278:41420–4143.

Tartaglia M, Niemeyer CM, Fragale A, Song X, Buechner J, Jung A, Hahlen K, Hasle H, Licht JD, Gelb BD. 2003. Somatic mutations in PTPN11 in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, myelodysplastic syndromes and acute myeloid leukemia. Nat Genet 34:148–150.

Benezra M, Chevallier N, Morrison DJ, MacLachlan TK, Wafik S. El-Deiry WS, Licht JD. 2003. BRCA1 augments transcription by the NF-B transcription factor by binding to the Rel domain of the p65/RelA subunit. J Biol Chem 278:26333–26341.

Schumacher V, Schuhen S, Sonner S, Weirich A, Leuschner I, Harm D, Licht JD, Roberts S, Royer-Pokera B. 2003. Two molecular subgroups of Wilms tumors with or without WT1 mutations. Clin Can Res 9:2005–2014.

Labbaye C, Quaranta M, Pagliuca A, Militi S, Licht JD, Testa U, Peschle C. 2002. PLZF induces megakaryocytic development, activates Tpo receptor expression and interacts with GATA1 protein. Oncogene 21:6669–6679.

McLoughlin P, Ehler E, Carlile G, Licht JD, Schäfer BW. 2002. The p53-inducible protein DRAL/FHL2 functionally interacts with the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein. J Biol Chem 277:37045–37053.

Takahashi S, Licht JD. 2002. The human promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger gene is regulated by the Evi-1oncoprotein and a novel guanine-rich site binding protein. Leukemia 16:1755–1762.

Dai M-S, Chevallier N, Stone S, Heinrich MC, McConnell MJ, Reuter T, Broxmeyer HE, Licht JD, Li Lu L, Hoatlin ME. 2002. The effects of the Fanconi anemia zinc finger (FAZF) on cell cycle, apoptosis and proliferation are differentiation-stage specific. J Biol Chem 277:26327–26334.

Melnick A, Carlile G, Ahmad KA, Kiang K Bardwell V, Prive GG, Licht JD. 2002. Critical residues within the BTB domain of PLZF and Bcl6 modulate interaction with co-repressors. Mol Cell Biol 22:1804–1818.

Gross I, Bassit B, Benezra M, Licht JD. 2001. Mammalian Sprouty proteins inhibit cell growth and differentiation by preventing Ras activation. J Biol Chem 276: 46460–46468.

Zhao F, Satoda M, Licht JD, Owa C, Gelb BD. 2001. Cloning and characterization of a novel mouse AP-2 transcription factor Ap-2δ, with unique DNA binding and transactivation properties. J Biol Chem 276:40755–40760.

Ward J, McConnell M, Carlile GW, Pandolfi PP, Licht JD, Freedman LP. 2001. The acute promyelocytic leukemia associated protein, PLZF, inhibits 1,25(OH)2D3-induced monocytic differentiation of U937 cells through a physical interaction with VDR. Blood 98: 3290–3300.

Srivastava DK, Tendler CL, Milani D, English MA, Licht JD, Wilson SH. 2001. The HIV-1 transactivator protein Tat is a potent inducer of the DNA repair enzyme ß-polymerase. AIDS 15:433–440.

Houvras Y, Benezra M, Zhang H, Manfredi JJ, Weber BL, Licht JD. 2000. BRCA1 physically and functionally interacts with ATF1. J Biol Chem 275:36230–36237.

Melnick A, Carlile GW, McConnell MJ, Polinger A, Hiebert SW, Licht JD. 2000. The AML-1/ETO fusion protein is a dominant negative inhibitor of transcriptional repression by PLZF. Blood 96:3939–3947.

Melnick A, Ahmad KF, Arai S, Polinger A, Ball H, Borden KL, Carlile GW, Privé GG, Licht JD. 2000. In-depth mutational analysis of the PLZF BTB/POZ domain reveals motifs and residues required for biological and transcriptional functions. Mol Cell Biol 20:6550–6567.

Hosono S, Gross I, English MA, Hadja K, Fearon E, Licht JD. 2000. E-Cadherin is a WT1 target gene. J Biol Chem 275:10943–10953.

Melnick A, Westendorf J, Pollinger A, Arai S, Ball H Hiebert SW, Licht JD. 2000. The ETO protein disrupted in t(8;21)-associated acute myeloid leukemia is a corepressor for the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein. Mol Cell Biol 20:2075–2086.

Hoatlin ME, Zhi Y, Ball H, Silvey K, Melnick A, Stone S, Arai S, Hawe N, Owen G, Zelent A, Licht JD. 1999. A novel BTB/POZ transcriptional repressor protein interacts with the Fanconi anemia group C protein and PLZF. Blood 94:3737–3747.

Melnick A, Fruchtman S, Zelent A, Liu M, Huang Q, Boczkowska B, Calasanz MJ, Fernandez A, Licht JD, Najfeld V. 1999. Identification of novel chromosomal rearrangements in acute myelogenous leukemia involving loci on chromosome 2p23, 15q22 and 17q21. Leukemia 13:1534 –1538.

Zhang T, Xiong H, Kan L-X, Zhang C-K, Jia, X-F, Fu, G, Tong J-H, Gu B-W, Yu M, Licht JD, Waxman S, Zellent A, Chen E, Chen S-J.1999. Genomic sequence, structural organization, molecular evolution and aberrant rearrangement of the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 96:11422–11427.

Ball H, Melnick A, Shaknovich R, Kohanski R, Licht JD. 1999. The promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (PLZF) protein binds DNA in a high molecular weight complex associated with cdc2 kinase. Nuc Acids Res 27:4106–4113.

van Schothorst EM, Prins DEM, Baysal BE, Beekman M, Licht JD, Waxman S, Zelent A, Cornelisse CJ, van Ommen GJB, Richard III CW, Devilee P. 1999. Genomic structure of the human PLZF gene. Gene 236:21–24.

English MA, Licht JD. 1999. Tumor-associated WT1 missense mutants indicate that transcriptional activation by WT1 is critical for growth control. J Biol Chem 274:13258–13263.

Koken MHM, Daniel MT, Giannì M, Zelent A, Licht JD, Degos L, Varet B, de Thé H. 1999. Retinoic acid, but not arsenic trioxide, degrades the PLZF/RARα fusion protein, without inducing terminal differentiation or apoptosis, in a RA-therapy resistant t(11;17)(q23;q21) APL patient. Oncogene 18:1113–1118.

Yeyati PL, Shaknovich R, Ball HJ, Boterashvili S, Li J-Y, Waxman S, Zelent A, Licht JD. Leukemia translocation protein PLZF inhibits cell growth and expression of cyclin A. Oncogene 18:925–934. 

Hummel JL, Wells RA, Dubé ID, Licht JD, Kamel-Reid S. 1999. Deregulation of NPM and PLZF in a variant t(5;17) case of acute promyelocytic leukemia. Oncogene 18: 633–642.

Hosono S, Luo XL, Wilson PD, Burrow CR, Reddy, JC, Hyink DP, Schnapp LM, Atweh GH, Licht JD. 1999. WT1 expression induces features of renal differentiation in mesenchymal fibroblasts. Oncogene 18:417–427.

Shaknovich RS, Yeyati PL, Ivins S, Melnick A, Lempert C, Waxman S, Zelent A, Licht JD. 1998. The promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein affects myeloid cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Mol Cell Biol 18(9): 5533–5545.

Carroquino MJ, Galson SK, Licht JD, Amler RW, Perera FP, Claxton LD, Landrigan PJ. 1998. The U.S. EPA Conference on Preventable Causes of Cancer in Children: A Research Agenda. Environ Health Perspect 106(Suppl 3):867–873.

Koken MHM, Reid A, Quiquon F, Chebi-Alix MK, Davies JM, Kabarowski JHS, Zhu J, Dong S, Chen S-J, Chen Z, Tan CC, Licht JD, Waxman S, de Thé H, Zelent A. 1997. Leukemia-associated retinoic acid receptor α fusion partners, PML and PLZF, heterodimerize and colocalize to nuclear bodies. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 94:10255–10260.

Somasundaram K, Zhang H, Zeng Y-X, Houvras Y, Wu GS, Peng Y, Zhang H, Wu GS, Licht JD, Weber BL, El-Deiry WS. 1997. Arrest of the cell cycle by the tumour-suppressor BRCA1 requires the CDK-inhibitor p21WAF1/CiPl. Nature 389:187–190.

Li JY, English, MA, Ball H, Yeyati PL, Waxman S, Licht JD. 1997. Sequence-specific DNA binding and transcriptional regulation by the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger protein. J Biol Chem 272: 22447–22455.

Hanna-Rose W, Licht JD, Hansen U. 1997. Two evolutionarily conserved repression domains in the Drosophila Krüppel protein differ in activator specificity. Mol Cell Biol 17:4820–4829.

Holmes G, Botahvelili S, English MA, Wainwright BJ, Licht JD, Little MH. 1997. Two N-terminal self-association domains are required for the dominant negative transcriptional activity of WT1 Denys-Drash mutant proteins. Biochem Bipohys Res Comm 233:723–728.

Johnstone RW, See RH, Sells SF, Wang J, Muthukkumar S, Englert C, Haber DA, Licht JD, Sugrue SP, Roberts T, Rangnekar VM, Shi Y. 1996. A novel repressor, par-4, modulates transcription and growth suppression functions of the Wilms’ tumor suppressor, WT1. Mol Cell Biol 16(12):6945–6956.

Dong S, Zhu J, Reid A, Strutt P, Guidez F, Zhong H-J, Wang Z-Y, Licht JD, Waxman S, Chomienne C, Chen Z, Zelent A, Chen S-J. 1996. Amino-terminal protein-protein interaction motif (POZ-domain) is responsible for activities of the promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger-retinoic acid receptor-alpha fusion protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 93(8):3624–3629.

Licht JD, Shaknovich R, Melnick A, English MA, Li J-Y, Reddy JC, Dong S, Chen S-J, Zelent A, Waxman S. 1996. Reduced and altered DNA-binding and transcriptional properties of the PLZF-retinoic acid receptor-alpha chimera generated in t(11;17)-associated acute promyelocytic leukemia. Oncogene 12:323–336.

Reid A, Gould A, Brand N, Cook M, Strutt P, Li J, Licht JD, Waxman S, Krumlauf R, Zelent A. 1995. Leukemia translocation gene, PLZF, is expressed with a speckled nuclear pattern in early hematopoietic progenitor cells. Blood 86(12):4544–4552.

Reddy JC, Hosono S, Licht JD. 1995. The transcriptional effect of WT1 is modulated by choice of expression vector. J Biol Chem 270: 29976–29982.

Luo XN, Reddy JC, Levy PL, Haber DA, Licht JD, Atweh GH. 1995. The WT1 tumor suppressor gene inhibits ras mediated growth and transformation. Oncogene 11:743–750.

Reddy JC, Morris J, Wang J, English MA, Haber DA, Shi Y, Licht JD. 1995. WT1-mediated transcriptional activation is inhibited by dominant-negative mutant proteins. J Biol Chem 270(18):10878–10884.

Cook M, Gould A, Brand N, Davies J, Reid A, Strutt P, Shaknovich R, Licht JD, Waxman S, Chen Z, Krumlauf R, Zelent A. 1995. Evolutionarily conserved expression of the leukemia translocation gene PLZF during neurogenesis and hemopoiesis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 92:2249.

Licht JD, Chomienne C, Goy A, Chen A, Wu Y, Scott AA, Miller WH Jr., Zelenetz AD, Willman CL, Head DR, Chen Z, Chen S-J, Zelent A, Macintyre E, Veil A, Cortes J, Kantarjian H, Waxman S. 1995. Clinical and molecular characterization of a rare syndrome of acute promyleocytic leukemia associated with t(11;17). Blood 85(4):1083–1094. 

Chen A, Licht JD, Wu Y, Hellinger N, Scher W, Waxman S. 1994. Retinoic acid is required for and potentiates superinduction of differentiation of acute promyelocytic leukemia cells by nonretinoid inducers. Blood 84(7):2122–2129.

Scott A, Head, DR, Kopecky KJ, Appelbaum FR, Theil KS, Grever MR, Chen I-M, Whitaker MH, Griffith BB, Licht JD, Waxman S, Whalen MM, Bankhurst AD, Richter LC, Grogan TM, Willman CL.1994. HLA-Dr-, CD33+, CD56+, CD16- myeloid/natural killer cell acute leukemia: A previously unrecognized form of acute leukemia potentially misdiagnosed as French-American-British acute myeloid leukemia-M3. Blood 84:244–255.

Licht JD, Mazanet R, Loehrer, PJ, Gonin R, Antman K. 1994. Phase IV trial of daily oral etoposide in the treatment of advanced soft-tissue sarcoma. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 34:79–80.

Licht JD, Hanna-Rose W, Reddy JC, English MA, Ro M, Grossel M, Shaknovich R, Hansen U. 1994. Mapping and mutagenesis of the amino terminal repression domain of the Drosophila Krüppel protein. Mol Cell Biol 14:4057–4066.

Licht JD, Ro M, English MA, Grossel M, Hansen U. 1993. Selective repression of transcriptional activators at a distance by the Drosophila Krüppel protein. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 90(23): 11361–11365.

DeFranco C, Ro M, Grossel M, Hansen UM, Wagner JA, Licht JD. 1993. NGF1A (EGR1) contains transcription activating domains in both the amino and carboxyl terminal regions of the protein. Biochem Bipohys Res Comm 194(1):425–431.

Licht JD, Gonin R, Antman KH. 1991. Phase II trial of trimetrexate in patients with advanced soft tissue sarcoma. Cancer Chemother Pharmacol 28:223–225.

Seiden MV, O’Donnell WJ, Weinblatt M, Licht JD. 1990. Vasculitis and recurrent pulmonary hemorrhage in a long-term survivor after autologous transplantation for lymphoma. Bone Marr Transpl 6:345–347.

Licht JD, Bosserman LD, Andersen JW, Yeap BY, Klatt MM, Martel JK, Anderson KC, Rosenthal DS, Pinkus G, Skarin AT, Canellos GP. 1990. Treatment of low and intermediate grade lymphoma with intensive chemotherapy leads to long term disease-free survival. Cancer 66(4):632–639.

Licht JD, Grossel MA, Figge J, Hansen UM. 1990. Drosophila Krüppel protein is a transcriptional repressor. Nature 346:76–79.

Licht JD, Garnick MB. 1987. Phase II trial of strepozocin in the treatment of advanced renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Treat Rep 71:97–98.

Hong RA, Licht JD, Wei JY, Heller GV, Blaustein AS, Pasternak RC. 1986. Elevated CKMB with normal total creatine kinase in suspected myocardial infarction: Associated clinical findings and early prognosis. Am Heart J 111:1041–1047.

Resources

Addgene — The nonprofit plasmid repository

BioJupies — User-friendly, interactive analysis notebooks for RNA-seq data

Bits of DNA — Lior Pachter’s computational biology blog 

Cancerrxgene — Genomics of drug sensitivity in cancer

cBioPortal — Visualization, analysis and download of large-scale cancer genomics data sets

ChIP-Enrich — Gene set enrichment testing

ChromHMM — Chromatin state discovery and characterization

Cistrome — Integrative analysis pipelines for genome regulation

CistromeCancer — Predicted transcription factor targets and enhancer profiles in cancers

CiteAb — The Antibody Search Engine

Enrichr — Interactive and collaborative gene list enrichment analysis tool

ExpressAnalyst — A unified platform for gene expression data analysis

LincsCloud — Catalog of gene-expression data collected from human cells treated with chemical compounds and genetic reagents

Morpheus — Matrix visualization and analysis software for gene expression data

Reactome Icon Library and Servier SMART — Icons and graphical elements

Sets — A web-based tool to evaluate the significance of intersections among sets. Also produces Venn diagrams.

UALCAN — Cancer transcriptome web portal