Judy Crabtree, PhD.

Dr. Crabtree’s research focuses on understanding the etiology and biological processes of endocrine tumor disorders, specifically Uterine Leiomyoma (fibroids) and Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia, Type I (MEN1). Uterine leiomyoma are hormone-responsive tumors that arise in the smooth muscle layer of the uterus and clinically affect up to 30% of reproductive age women. Chromosomal studies have been unsuccessful in identifying an individual gene or family of genes responsible for tumorigenesis in this disease, thus Dr. Crabtree is interested in elucidating if epigenetic mechanisms are responsible for tumor formation. The Crabtree lab investigates candidate gene transcriptional regulation via methylation in tumors from both the human and the Eker rat, and the functional consequences of this epigenetic regulation in uterine fibroid pathogenesis.  

MEN1 is a multiple endocrine tumor disorder characterized by tumor formation in the endocrine pancreas, anterior pituitary and the parathyroid glands that is caused by inactivation of the MEN1 gene on human chromosome 11. Since we identified the MEN1 gene in 1997, there has been significant activity to understand the regulation and functional role(s) of the menin protein in both normal and tumor biology. Key observations recently include the down regulation of menin expression by pregnancy hormones (progesterone and prolactin) and altered pancreatic islet expansion during pregnancy via epigenetic mechanisms. Work in the Crabtree lab explores the role of progesterone and other hormones in the epigenetic regulation of menin expression and function.