Kathleen J. Green, PhD

Mayberry Professor of Pathology and Toxicology
Professor of Dermatology

E-mail:   kgreen@northwestern.edu

Biography

Dr. Kathleen J. Green graduated cum laude with Distinction in Biology from Pomona College and went on to obtain a Ph.D. in Cell and Developmental Biology at Washington University in St. Louis. After postdoctoral training in Cell Biology at Northwestern University Medical School, Dr. Green joined the faculty of the Pathology and Dermatology Departments where she is currently the Joseph L. Mayberry Professor of Pathology and Toxicology.

A fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Green holds a Keith Porter Fellowship and has been a recipient of two faculty research awards from the American Cancer Society, a Johnson and Johnson Focused Giving Award, a March of Dimes Basil O’Connor Starter Scholar Award, and the 2002 William Montagna Award from the Society for Investigative Dermatology. Green has chaired or co-chaired Gordon and Keystone conferences, and is chair for the 2003 Gordon Conference on Epithelial Differentiation and Keratinization. She is a member of Faculty 1000, on the advisory board of Experimental Dermatology and serves as editor for the The Journal of Cell Science. Dr. Green serves on the Board of Directors of the Society for Investigative Dermatology and has been chair of the NIH-General Medicine A1 Study Section. Green’s research is supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and she is the director of two NIH-funded training programs in cutaneous biology and carcinogenesis.

Research Interests

Dr. Green’s research program is directed toward elucidating the structure and function of epithelial adhesion molecules and adhesive structures in tissue morphogenesis and differentiation as well as in pathological processes such as cancer, autoimmune, and inherited disease.  Cell adhesion plays a crucial role in embryogenesis, differentiation of adult tissues and wound healing. Our laboratory is studying the assembly, regulation and functions of intercellular junction molecules in desmosomes and adherens junctions that mediate cell-cell adhesion and attachment of the cytoskeleton to the cell surface. In particular, we are addressing how adhesion molecules coordinate their mechanical and signaling roles in normal tissues, as well as in cancer, skin and heart disease.

The transmembrane proteins of these junctions, known as cadherins, are engaged in bi-directional signaling. For instance, we have shown that cadherin function is modulated by growth factors such as EGF that drive cadherin internalization and degradation, thus contributing to loss of adhesion and the acquisition of motility that accompanies wound healing and tumor cell invasion.  On the other hand, we recently showed that a desmosomal cadherin called desmoglein 1, which is expressed only when epidermal cells make a commitment to stratify and undergo a program of differentiation, is capable of attenuating growth factor signaling in the epidermis. This function is required for facilitating the normal differentiation program of this epithelium, and importantly does not depend on desmoglein's adhesive capability. This work may lead to novel therapies for patients with striate palmar plantar keratoderma (SPPK) with desmoglein 1 haploinsufficiency.

Our lab is also investigating the structural and signaling roles of cadherin-associated proteins. We recently identified an associated armadillo protein called plakophilin 2 (PKP2) as a structural scaffold that coordinates PKC and rho GTPase signaling to regulate junction assembly locally while also affecting global intracellular signaling. This pathway may prove to be a key contributor to pathogenesis in the inherited disease ARVC (arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy), which leads to sudden death in patients harboring mutations in PKP2.

Current efforts are focused on defining the molecular mechanisms coupling cadherins and their associated proteins to these signaling pathways through a combination of proteomics and CytoTrap yeast two hybrid screens, cell biology (including living cell analyses using fluorescently tagged molecules), biochemistry, in vitro molecular genetic and transgenic mouse approaches.

For Dr. Green's Laboratory web site, please click here.