Chris Schafer, Ph.D.
Research Assistant Professor
Cardiovascular Biology Research Program
Research
The cardiovascular system is responsible for maintaining blood circulation throughout our bodies. To do this, our bodies contain an extensive network of blood vessels through which oxygen, nutrients and other circulating factors are delivered to each of our organs. My research focuses on a type of vascular cell, known as an endothelial cell, that makes up the inner lining of all blood vessels. Endothelial cells form a barrier between the blood circulation and organ tissue. This allows endothelial cells to function as a gatekeeper of transport between these two compartments.
During many diseases, endothelial cells will alter their gatekeeping function to aid the inflammatory response of our body’s immune system. My research focuses on investigating how a protein known as ERG regulates how endothelial cells respond to inflammation. ERG is a transcription factor, meaning it is responsible for directing which genes are to be, or not to be, expressed within a cell. Interestingly, within the lung and eye, endothelial cells will sometimes reduce their expression of ERG to change the pattern of which genes are being expressed. My goal is to understand how the regulation of ERG expression in endothelial cells influences the behavior of endothelial cells during vascular disorders of the lung and eye.
Publications
Recent Publications
Chucair-Elliott AJ, Pham K, Cleuren ACA, Schafer CM, Griffin CT, Ocanas SR, Freeman WM, Elliott MH. Comparative Analysis of In vivo Endothelial Cell Translatomes Across Central Nervous System Vascular Beds. Exp Eye Res:110101, 2024 September, PMID: 39303842, PMCID: PMC11532013
Ma X, Wu W, Hara M, Zhou J, Panzarin C, Schafer CM, Griffin CT, Cai J, Ma JX, Takahashi Y. Deficient RPE mitochondrial energetics leads to subretinal fibrosis in age-related neovascular macular degeneration. Commun Biol 7:1075, 2024 September, PMID: 39223298, PMCID: PMC11369096
Chinoy ZS, Schafer CM, West CM, Boons GJ. Chemical Synthesis of a Glycopeptide Derived from Skp1 for Probing Protein Specific Glycosylation. Chemistry 21:11779-87, 2015 August, PMID: 26179871, PMCID: PMC4646072
Schafer C, et al. An inhibitor of endothelial ETS transcription factors promotes physiologic and therapeutic vessel regression. Proc National Acad Sci 202015980 (2020) doi:10.1073/pnas.2015980117. PMID: 33020273, PMCID: PMC7584886.
Koller GM, Schafer C, Kemp SS, Aguera KN, Lin PK, Joshua CF, Griffin CT, Davis GE. Proinflammatory Mediators, IL (Interleukin)-1β, TNF (Tumor Necrosis Factor) α, and Thrombin Directly Induce Capillary Tube Regression. Arteriosclerosis Thrombosis Vasc Biology 40, 365–377 (2019). PMID: 31852224, PMCID: PMC7939120.
Xie J, Gao S, Schafer C, Colijn S, Muthukumar V, Griffin CT. The chromatin-remodeling enzyme CHD3 plays a role in embryonic viability but is dispensable for early vascular development. Plos One 15, e0235799 (2020). PMID: 32658897, PMCID: PMC7357745.
Schafer C, Young ZT, Makarewich CA, Elnwasany A, Kinter C, Kinter M, and Szweda LI. Coenzyme A–mediated degradation of pyruvate dehydrogenase kinase 4 promotes cardiac metabolic flexibility after high-fat feeding in mice. J Biol Chem 293, 6915–6924 (2018). PMID: 29540486, PMCID: PMC5936801.
Crewe C, Kinter, M, and Szweda, LI Rapid Inhibition of Pyruvate Dehydrogenase: An Initiating Event in High Dietary Fat-Induced Loss of Metabolic Flexibility in the Heart. Plos One 8, e77280 (2013).
Contact
Cardiovascular Biology Research Program, MS 45
Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation
825 N.E. 13th Street
Oklahoma City, OK 73104
Phone: 405-271-7203
E-mail: Chris-Schafer@omrf.org
