Current research:
Dr. Yang’s laboratory focuses on the molecular and epigenetic basis of cancer, stem cells and animal development, especially about how cell signaling regulates chromatin modification, gene expression, and other events in the nucleus.

1) Characterization of two paralogous histone acetyltransferases—The gene for human MOZ (monocytic leukemia zinc finger protein) was identified in 1996 as a fusion partner rearranged in t(8;16)(p11;p13), a recurrent translocation associated with the M4/M5 subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia. Since then, this gene has been found to be a partner in three other chromosomal translocations linked to acute myeloid leukemia and therapy-related myelodysplastic syndromes.

2) Function and regulation of histone deacetylases—Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are relatively novel enzymes that are able to remove acetyl groups from acetylated forms of histones and many other protein substrates. In the mammalian system, eighteen proteins have been shown to possess such enzymatic activity, with four of them (HDAC4, 5, 7 and 9) forming a subgroup known as class IIa.

3) Post-translational modification in cell differentiation and reprogramming—By analogy to numerous modifications present in histones and the tumour suppressor p53, Yang has recently postulated that this also occurs in other major protein regulators. By use of MEF2 as an example, his group found a phosphorylation-dependent sumoylation motif conserved in MEF2 protein from worms to humans. A similar motif is present in the stem cell reprogramming factors of KLF4 and Sox2, so Dr. Yang’s group has been assessing the importance of such a motif in reprogramming fibroblasts into induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells.