Keith Johnson

Biography

Dr. Keith Johnson is a Professor of Department of Oral Biology, Eppley Institute Courtesy Appointment - Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Research Interest

The main focus of our laboratory is the role cadherins and catenins play in tumorigenesis. Cadherins are cell-cell adhesion molecules that are the transmembrane component of the adherens junction. Catenins comprise the intracellular plaque proteins of the junction that serve to connect the cadherin to the cytoskeleton. The cadherin family of proteins has been implicated in cell sorting events during normal development. Thus, cells expressing different cadherins sort out from one another. Sorting can depend not only on expression of different family members but also on expression of different levels of a single cadherin. Tumorigenesis is a complex event that involves altered regulation of cell growth patterns and altered interactions of cells with one another and with the extracellular environment.