JoAnne Stewart Richards

JoAnne S. Richards, Ph.D.

Professor

Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology

Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030

joanner@bcm.edu

RESEARCH INTERESTS: Molecular mechanisms involved in the hormonal regulation of ovarian cell differentiation and cancer

One of the major issues facing the world today is the explosion in world population.  New ways to approach fertility control are needed and depend on our understanding of the biology of the mammalian ovary.  The next decade promises new insights into how the ovary is formed, what endocrine signals and genes regulate follicular growth and follicular cell function, how ovulation occurs and what genes mediate the transformation of a follicle into a corpus luteum.  The biological challenge to be met by the mammalian ovary is to maintain the continuous development of small follicles and, at the same time, to allow other follicles to ovulate and release a fertilizable egg.  These dynamic events are orchestrated by many interwoven biochemical and hormonal signals. Ultimately less than 1 percent of the follicles in the ovary ovulate.

Among the key inducers of ovarian cell proliferation, differentiation and ovulation are the gonadotropins (FSH/LH) that activate multiple signaling cascades in ovarian cells, including the RAS/MEK1/ERK1/2/ C/EBP a/b, SRC/PI3K/AKT/FOXO and AC/cAMP/PKA pathways. My research interests have focused on the molecular mechanisms by which these molecules regulate ovarian cell gene expression and alter cell fate decisions. Using mutant mouse models, we are analyzing how these signaling pathways regulate normal follicle development and ovulation and, under abnormal conditions alter cell fate decisions leading to ovarian cell tumorigenesis. Recently, we have documented the critical roles of the RAS/ERK1/2 pathway in mediating LH induced events that control ovulation and luteinization. We are currently analyzing genes that may impact polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS).

A major issue facing women today is the detection and successful elimination of ovarian cancer.  Mouse models for ovarian cell surface epithelial (OSE) cancer and granulosa cell tumors (GCT) are being developed to understand and cure these insidious diseases.  Most specifically, we have generated mouse models that mimic human ovarian granulosa cell tumor formation and ovarian epithelial serous adenocarcinomas  Using these mouse models we are determining the interactions of the tumor protein TRP53 (p53) and steroid hormones to identify new mechanisms that can be targeted for therapeutic purposes to improve patient survival and early detection.

Fan HY, Liu Z, Shimada M, Sterneck E, Johnson PF, Hedrick SM, Richards JS. MAPK3/1 (ERK1/2) in ovarian granulosa cells are essential for female fertility. Science 324:938-941, 2009. 

Richards JS and Pangas SA.The ovary: basic biology and clinical implications. J Clin Invest 120:963-972, 2010

Mullany LK, Liu Z, Wong KK, Deneke V,