• Last Name: A - F
• Last Name: G - L
• Last Name: M - R
• Last Name: S - Z

Research Interests

My research uses the power of forward genetics in zebrafish to investigate the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying liver development. Since liver development has not been characterized in zebrafish, an initial goal has been to establish the details of the process in wild-type organisms. Experiments make use of a transgenic line that expresses GFP in the developing gut and associated organs including the liver. This makes it possible to track the cellular movements leading to liver development, along with the expression pattern of relevant genes of interest. Our lab recently demonstrated that Wnt2b, Bmp and Fgf signaling are each important in the early stages of liver development in zebrafish. More recently, the lab has used single cell lineage tracing in zebrafish to investigate the origin of hepatic progenitors in vivo and to analyze cell fate decisions that lead to development of liver vs. pancreas.

Selected Publications

• Ober EA, Verkade H, Field HA, Stainier DY. Mesodermal Wnt2b signalling positive regulates liver specification. Nature 2006;442:688-691.
• Shin D, Shin CH, Tucker J, Ober EA, Rentzsch F, Poss KD, Hammerschmidt M, Mullins MC, Stainier DY. Bmp and Fgf signaling are essential for liver specification in zebrafish. Development 2007;134:2041-2050.
• Dong PD, Munson CA, Norton W, Crosnier C, Pan X, Gong Z, Neumann CJ, Stainier DY. Fgf10 regulates hepatopancreatic ductal system patterning and differentiation. Nat Genet 2007;39:397-402.
• Schlegel A, Stainier DY. Microsomal triglyceride transfer protein is required for yolk lipid utilization and bsorption of dietary lipids in zebrafish larvae. Biochemistry 2006;45:15179-15187.
• Chung, W-S., Shin, C.H. and Stainier D.Y.R. (2008).  Bmp2 signaling regulates the hepatic vs pancreatic fate decision. Developmental Cell 15: 738-748.
• Sakaguchi, T.F., Sadler, K.C., Crosnier, C. and Stainier, D.Y.R. (2008).  Endothelial signals modulate hepatocyte apico-basal polarization in zebrafish.  Current Biology 18: 1565-1571.  
  

• Professor
• Biochemistry and Biophysics
• Associate Director, UCSF Liver Center

Research Theme

• Progenitor Cells, Growth and Development

Contact Information

• Didier.stainier@ucsf.edu
• Phone: (415) 502-5679
• Phone: (415) 502-5680
• Fax:      (415) 476-3892

Mission Bay Campus
• Box 2711
• 1550 Fourth St. S384E
• San Francisco, CA. 94143 - 2711

Other UCSF Affiliations

• BMS Graduate Program
• Tetrad Graduate Program
• Hellen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center

Website

• http://biochemistry.ucsf.edu/labs/stainier/