Valerie Weaver

Associate Professor, Department of Surgery Director, Center for Bioengineering & Tissue Regeneration Associate Professor, Program in Bioengineering Affiliated Professor, Department of Anatomy Core Member, UCB/UCSF Graduate Group in Bioengineering UCSF, 513 Parnassus Avenue mailcode: Box 0456 415-476-3826 fax: 415-476-3985 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Membership effective July 2007

Research Interests

The tissue microenvironment and mechanical force in adult and stem cell fate

Research Summary

Stromal-epithelial interactions regulate tissue development and homeostasis. In particular, the extracellular matrix, which is the noncellular component of the microenvironment, influences cell growth, survival, migration and tissue-specific differentiation through a repertoire of cellular receptors including integrins, syndecans and discoidin receptors. My group is exploring the molecular mechanisms whereby these extracellular matrix receptors modulate cell fate. Specifically, we are investigating how mechanical and topological properties of the matrix, which are related to its composition and organization, regulate the function of matrix receptors to alter cell behavior. Our research program is broadly divided into two fields of inquiry. The first focuses on understanding how matrix composition and organization influences mammary tissue development and tumor progression, and the second aims to clarify the role of matrix force on embryonic and adult stem cell fate.

Selected Publications

Rizki A, Weaver VM, Lee SY, Rozenberg GI, Chin K, Myers CA, Bascom JL, Mott JD, Semeiks JR, Grate LR, Mian IS, Borowsky AD, Jensen RA, Idowu MO, Chen F, Chen DJ, Petersen OW, Gray JW, Bissell MJ, A human breast cell model of preinvasive to invasive transition. Cancer Research, 2008.

Friedland JC, Lakins JN, Kazanietz MG, Chernoff J, Boettiger D, Weaver VM, "alpha6beta4 integrin activates Rac-dependent p21-activated kinase 1 to drive NF-kappaB-dependent resistance to apoptosis in 3D mammary acini", J Cell Sci, 2007.

Paszek MJ, Zahir N, Johnson KR, Lakins JN, Rozenberg GI, Gefen A, Reinhart-King CA, Margulies SS, Dembo M, Boettiger D, Hammer DA, Weaver VM, Tensional homeostasis and the malignant phenotype. Cancer Cell, 2005.

Zahir N, Lakins JN, Russell A, Ming W, Chatterjee C, Rozenberg GI, Marinkovich MP, Weaver VM, Autocrine laminin-5 ligates alpha6beta4 integrin and activates RAC and NFkappaB to mediate anchorage-independent survival of mammary tumors. J Cell Bio, 2003.

Weaver, VM, Lelievre, S., Lakins, JN., Chrenek, M., Jones, J., Giancotti, F., Werb, Z., and Bissell,MJ, Beta 4 integrin-dependent formation of polarized three-dimentional architecture confers resistance to apoptosis in normal and malignant mammary epithelium. Cancer Cell, 2002.