Joseph Lin
Program: Neurosciences
Current advisor: Rajendra S. Apte, MD, PhD
Undergraduate university: Case Western Reserve University
Research summary
I am pursuing my thesis research in the laboratory of Dr. Rajendra Apte in the Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. Previous work by this laboratory has shown that there is a microRNA-mediated, age-associated decline in stearoyl-CoA desaturase 2 (Scd2) expression in macrophages that appears to alter them towards a proinflammatory and proangiogenic phenotype. We are following up on these results by investigating the mechanistic link between deficiency of SCD2, an enzyme that converts saturated fatty acids to monounsaturated fatty acids, and altered macrophage function. We hope that these studies will advance our understanding of fatty acid metabolism in the context of macrophages while additionally providing insight into the pathogenesis of age-related diseases, including those of the eye.macrophages while additionally providing insight into the pathogenesis of age-related diseases, including those of the eye.
Graduate publications
Lee TJ, Sasaki Y, Ruzycki PA, Ban N, Lin JB, Wu HT, Santeford A, Apte RS. 2024 Catalytic isoforms of AMP-activated protein kinase differentially regulate IMPDH activity and photoreceptor neuron function. JCI Insight, 9(4):e173707.
Lin JB, Santeford A, Colasanti JJ, Lee Y, Shah AV, Wang TJ, Ruzycki PA, Apte RS. 2024 Targeting cell-type-specific, choroid-peripheral immune signaling to treat age-related macular degeneration. Cell Rep Med, 5(1):101353.
Terao R, Lee TJ, Colasanti J, Pfeifer CW, Lin JB, Santeford A, Hase K, Yamaguchi S, Du D, Sohn BS, Sasaki Y, Yoshida M, Apte RS. 2024 LXR/CD38 activation drives cholesterol-induced macrophage senescence and neurodegeneration via NAD+ depletion. Cell Rep, 43(5):114102.
Terao R, Sohn BS, Yamamoto T, Lee TJ, Colasanti J, Pfeifer CW, Lin JB, Santeford A, Yamaguchi S, Yoshida M, Apte RS. 2024 Cholesterol Accumulation Promotes Photoreceptor Senescence and Retinal Degeneration. Invest Ophthalmol Vis Sci, 65(10):29.
Lin JB, Santeford A, Usmani D, Shah AV, Ruzycki PA, Apte RS. 2023 Cell-specific Systemic Immune Signatures Associated with Treatment Burden in Neovascular Age-related Macular Degeneration. Ophthalmol Sci, 4(2):100410..
Lin JB, Pepple KL, Concepcion C, Korshunova Y, Paley MA, Paley GL, Laurent J, Apte RS, Hassman LM. 2023 Aqueous Macrophages Contribute to Conserved CCL2 and CXCL10 Gradients in Uveitis. Ophthalmol Sci, 4(4):100453.
Lin JB, Shen X, Pfeifer CW, Shiau F, Santeford A, Ruzycki PA, Clark BS, Liu Q, Huang AJW, Apte RS. 2023 Dry eye disease in mice activates adaptive corneal epithelial regeneration distinct from constitutive renewal in homeostasis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 120(2):e2204134120.
Lin JB, Mora A, Wang TJ, Santeford A, Usmani D, Ligon MM, Mysorekar IU, Apte RS. 2023 Loss of stearoyl-CoA desaturase 2 disrupts inflammatory response in macrophages. mBio, 14(4):e0092523.
Pfeifer CW, Walsh JT, Santeford A, Lin JB, Beatty WL, Terao R, Liu YA, Hase K, Ruzycki PA, Apte RS. 2023 Dysregulated CD200-CD200R signaling in early diabetes modulates microglia-mediated retinopathy. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA, 120(45):e2308214120.
Sasaki Y, Kakita H, Kubota S, Sene A, Lee TJ, Ban N, Dong Z, Lin JB, Boye SL, DiAntonio A, Boye SE, Apte RS, Milbrandt J. 2020 SARM1 depletion rescues NMNAT1-dependent photoreceptor cell death and retinal degeneration. Elife, 9():e62027.
Lin JB, Lin JB, Chen HC, Chen T, Apte RS.. 2019 Combined SIRT3 and SIRT5 deletion is associated with inner retinal dysfunction in a mouse model of type 1 diabetes. Sci Rep, 9(1):3799.
Lin JB, Moolani HV, Sene A, Sidhu R, Kell P, Lin JB, Dong Z, Ban N, Ory DS, Apte RS. 2018 Macrophage microRNA-150 promotes pathological angiogenesis as seen in age-related macular degeneration. JCI Insight, 3(7):e120157.
Lin JB, Sene A, Wiley LA, Santeford A, Nudleman E, Nakamura R, Lin JB, Moolani HV, Apte RS. 2018 WNT7A/B promote choroidal neovascularization. Exp Eye Res, 174():107-112.