The major focus of our lab is on the interplay between vascular cells and the extracellular
matrix in blood vessel development and disease. Our lab applies developmental biology,
genetic, biochemical, and omics approaches to uncover key insights into the morphogenesis
and pathogenesis of the blood vessel wall.
We have ongoing projects focusing on the following areas:
Aorta and Elastin Aortopathy
Ductus Arteriosus and Patent Ductus Arteriosus
Cerebral Vasculature and Intracranial Hemorrhage
Figure 1. Presenilin-1 in smooth muscle cells facilitates hypermuscularization in
elastin aortopathy. iScience. 27(1):108636. 2024.
Figure 2. Loss of TGFβ-mediated repression of angiopoietin-2 in pericytes underlies
germinal matrix hemorrhage pathogenesis.55(9):2340-2352. 2024
Spotlight Publications
Saito J*, Dave JM, Kabir I, Gallardo-Vara E, Tellides G, Rimer RK, Urban Z, Hla T, Greif DM*.
Sphingosine kinase 1 is integral for elastin deficiency-induced arterial muscularization.
bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.07.01.601150 (*Co-corresponding author)
Dave J, Chakraborty R, Agyemang A, Ntokou A, Saito J, Ballabh P, Martin KA, Greif DM. Loss of TGFβ-mediated repression of angiopoietin-2
in pericytes underlies germinal matrix hemorrhage pathogenesis. Stroke. 55(9):2340-2352. 2024. PMID: 39129597.
Saito J, Dave JM, Lau FD, Greif DM. Presenilin-1 in smooth muscle cells facilitates hypermuscularization
in elastin aortopathy. iScience. 27(1):108636. 2024. PMCID: PMC10788461.
Dave JM, Chakraborty R, Ntokou A, Saito J, Saddouk FZ, Feng Z, Misra A, Tellides G, Riemer RK, Urban Z, Kinnear C, Ellis J,
Mital S, Mecham R, Martin KA, Greif DM. JAGGED1/NOTCH3 activation promotes aortic
hypermuscularization and stenosis in elastin deficiency. The Journal of Clinical Investigation. 132(5):e142338. 2022. PMCID: PMC8884911.
Saito J, Kojima T, Tanifuji S, Kato Y, Oka S, Ichikawa Y, Miyagi E, Tachibana T, Asou T,
Yokoyama U. Transcriptome analysis reveals differential gene expression between the
closing ductus arteriosus and the patent ductus arteriosus in humans. Journal of Cardiovascular Development and Disease. 8(4):45. 2021. PMCID: PMC8073410.
