Camie Wing Yan Chan ( 陳詠欣)
Assistant Professor
B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.(Canada)

Department of Anatomy
1/F. Laboratory Block
Faculty of Medicine Building
21 Sassoon Road, Hong Kong

Anatomy Office: (852) 2819-9433 (voice)
Anatomy Office: (852) 2817-0857 (fax)

E-mail: camchan@hku.hk

Jump to: Background / Research / Publications / Collaborations

Background

Educational Background and Previous Appointments:

Ph.D. (University of Toronto, Canada); Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Johns Hopkins University, USA); Assistant Professor (University of California Davis, USA); Assistant Investigator (Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California, USA).

Current Appointment:

Assistant Professor, Department of Anatomy and Department of Medicine, University of Hong Kong.     

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Research

Research Interests:
Stem cell immunology, dendritic cell biology, immune therapy, innate and adaptive immunology; humanized mouse model.

Current Research Topics:
Immunogenicity of human embryonic stem cell and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived grafts; Stem cells as a source of dendritic cells for immune therapy; Study of human immunology using a humanized mouse model; Characterization of a hybrid population Interferon-producing killer dendritic cells.

Summary of Research
The function of the immune system is to protect our body from pathogens. The immune system is composed of many cell types and is classified into innate and adaptive systems. The laboratory focuses on dendritic cells (DCs) biology in initiating immune responses and on stem cell immunology. 

Stem cell immunology 

Pluripotent human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) can provide a renewable source of highly specialized cell types for transplantation therapies. However, host immune responses against the transplanted hESC-derived graft can severely hamper their clinical efficacy. It remains unclear whether or not differentiated hESCs are immunogenic and sufficient to cause rejection, and if so, how the response is mediated. Our lab focuses on dissecting the interactions of immune cells with hESC/iPSCs. 

Humanized mouse model
Studies on the immune system have been mostly limited in mice. However, mice are not humans. By transplanting hematopoietic stem cells into immunocompromised mice, we can study human immunology in vivo. Our lab focuses on understanding human dendritic cell functions in initiating immune response in vivo using a humanized mouse model.

Interferon-producing killer dendritic cells

We have discovered and reported a rare but unique immune population, which we termed interferon-producing killer DCs (IKDCs) that share hybrid features of NK-type killing and DC-type Ag-presenting activities (Chan et al., 2006). IKDCs can detect unique structural features of viral nucleic acids, such as unmethylated CpG-rich DNA motifs (CpG) and are activated upon interaction with tumor cells. Our findings demonstrated a dual assassin and messenger property of IKDCs suggesting a significant role in tumor immunosurveillance and antiviral immunity. Our lab focuses on the antigen processing activity of IKDCs. 

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Publications

1. Yuen H, Chan CW, Brown GM (1995). Comparison of [125I]iodomelatonin binding sites in infant cerebellum of sudden infant death syndrome and non-sudden infant death syndrome. Neurosci Lett. 197:154-158.

2. Brown GM, Pang SF, Silverman M, Chan CW, Song Y (1995). Melatonin Receptors in Peripheral Tissues. Pineal Research. 78-91. 

3. Song Y, Lee PJ, Chan CW, Brown GM, Pang SF, Silverman M (1996). Current advances in renal melatonin receptors. Melatonin: A universal photoperiodic signal with diverse actions. Frontiers of Hormone Research. Basel, Karger. 21:115-122.

4. Chan CW, Song Y, Ailenberg M, Wheeler M, Pang SF, Brown GM, Silverman M (1997). Studies of melatonin effects on epithelia using the human embryonic kidney-293 (HEK-293) cell line. Endocrinol. 138:4732-4739.

5. Song Y, Chan CW, Brown GM, Pang SF, Silverman M (1997). Studies of the renal action of melatonin: evidence that the effects are mediated by a 37 kDa receptors of the Mel1a subtype localized primarily to the basolateral membrane of the proximal tubule. FASEB. 11:93-100.   

6. Brown GM, Pang SF, Silverman M, Chan CW, Yong S (1997). Melatonin receptors in kidney and other peripheral tissues. Pineal Gland Update: From Molecular Biology to Clinical Medicine, PJD Publications Ltd., New York. 203-211.        

7. Liu MF, Chan CW, McGilvary I, Ning W, Levy GA (2001). Fulminant viral hepatitis: molecular and cellular basis, and clinical implications. Experts Reviews in Molecular Medicine. http://www-ermm.cbcu.cam.ac.uk/01002812h.html.

8. Chan CW, Chan MWC, Liu MF, Fung LS, Cole E, Leibowitz JL, Marsden PA, Clark DA, Levy GA (2001). Kinetic analysis of a unique direct prothrombinase, fgl2, and identification of a serine residue critical for the prothrombinase activity. J Immunol. 168:5170-5177.

9. Chan CW, Chan MWC, Zhang L, Gorczynski R, and Levy GA (2003). Soluble fgl2/fibroleukin, exhibits immunosuppressive properties: suppressing T cell proliferation and preventing in vitro maturation of bone marrow-derived dendritic cells. J Immunol. 170:4036-44.

10. Marsden PA, Ning Q, Fung LS, Luo X, Chen Y, Mendicino M, Ghanekar A, Scott JA, Miller T, Chan CW, Chan MW, He W, Gorczynski RM, Grant DR, Clark DA, Phillips MJ, Levy GA (2003). The Fgl2/fibroleukin prothrombinase contributes to immunologically mediated thrombosis in experimental and human viral hepatitis. J. Clin Invest. 112:58-66.

11. Chan CW, Crafton E, Fan HN, Flook J, Brockstedt D, Dubensky TW, Lanier LW, Pardoll DM, Housseau F (2006). Interferon producing killer-dendritic cells provide a link between innate and adaptive immunity. Nature Medicine. 12:207-13.

12. Tsang SY, Moore JC, Huizen RV, Chan CW, Li RA (2007). Ectopic expression of systemic RNA interference defective protein in embryonic stem cells. Biochem Biophys Res Commun. 357:480-486

13. Chan CW, Housseau F (2008). A “kiss of death” by dendritic cells to neoplastic cells. Implications for tumor immunosurveillance. Cell Death and Differentiation. 1-12

14. Moore JC, Siu D, Tsang SY, van Huizen R, Chan CW, Li RA (2008 Functional consequences of overexpression the gap junction protein Cx43 in the cardiogenic potential of human embryonic stem cells. Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 377:46-51.

15. Fu JD, Chan CW, Li RA (2008). An inducible transgene expression system for conditional phenotypic modification of human embryonic stem cells. Stem Cells Dev. 17:315-324.

16. Kurzrock EA, Lieu DK, deGraffenried LA, Chan CW, Isseroff R.R. (2008). Label-retaining cells of the bladder: putative lineage-specific urothelial stem cells. A J Physiol Renal Physiol. 294:F1415-21. 

17. Wang TH, Jang Q, Chan CW, Gorski K, McCadden E, Kardin D, Pardoll D, Whartenby K (2009). Inhibition of activation-induced death of dendritic cells and enhancement of vaccine efficacy via blockade of MINOR. Blood. 113:2906-2913.

18. Pletneva M, Fan H, Park J, Radojcic V, Jie C, Redwood, Chan CW, Pardoll D, Housseau F (2009). Interferon-producing killer dendritic cells are antigen presenting cells endowed with T cell cross-presentation activity. Cancer Research. 69:6607-6614.

19. Jiang P, Rushing SN, Kong CW, Fu J, Lieu DK, Chan CW, Deng W, Li RA. (2010) Electrophysiological Properties of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Am J Physiol Cell Physiol. 298:C486-95.

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