The Eblen Lab

Research:

Currently, the Eblen lab studies molecular mechanisms of ERK signaling in cancer biology, through studying the biological effects of downstream substrates. One substrate is the UBR5 E3 ubiquitin ligase, which is amplified and mutated in many cancers. The Eblen lab has shown that the UBR5 protein regulates cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells and xenografts and is a therapeutic target for epithelial ovarian cancer. He is currently using mass spectrometry to identify novel substrates of UBR5 ubiquitination that are involved in cisplatin resistance and other biological processes, including transcription. Another substrate under investigation is the alternative messenger RNA splicing factor SPF45, which he showed was the first splicing factor regulated by multiple MAP Kinase pathways, including ERK, JNK and p38, and showed phosphorylation of SPF45 regulates cancer cell adhesion, migration and invasion. Additionally, Dr Eblen’s lab is studying ERK regulation of a novel transcriptional complex involved in the epithelial to mesenchymal transition and cancer cell migration through transcriptional regulation.
Dr Eblen earned his BS in Biology from the University of Kentucky and his PhD in Cell Biology from Vanderbilt University, performing most of his dissertation research at the Mayo Clinic as a visiting graduate student in the laboratory of Dr Ed Leof. This work focused on the role of TGFb in inhibiting cell cycle progression through regulation of the cyclin dependent kinases. Dr Eblen then did a postdoctoral fellowship and was research faculty at the University of Virginia in the laboratory of Dr Michael Weber. There he studied the molecular mechanisms of ERK pathway regulation via cell adhesion and feedback phosphorylation, as well as the identification of novel ERK2 substrates using an ERK2 gatekeeper mutation and ATP analogs.
Research Funding: Dr Eblen has received research funding from the National Cancer Institute, the Department of Defense Breast and Ovarian Cancer Research Programs and the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute.

Teaching:

Dr Eblen is the course director for Dental Pharmacology and received the highest teacher evaluation score in the entire College of Dental Medicine for the Spring 2019 semester. He also teaches in the Medical Pharmacology course in the MUSC College of Medicine. Previously, he was a Director of the Proteins Unit of the First Year Curriculum (FYC) in the MUSC College of Graduate Studies and was selected as one of the top 10 graduate teachers in the FYC for 6 years.

Recent Publications:

Williams CB, Phelphs-Polirer K, Dingle I, Williams C, Rhett M, Eblen ST, Armeson K, Hille E, and Yeh E. HUNK phosphorylates EGFR to regulate breast cancer metastasis. 2019. Oncogene, in press

Kaur J, Daoud A and Eblen ST. Targeting chromatin remodeling for cancer therapy. 2019. Current Molecular Pharmacology, in press, Epub. PMID: 30767757

Zambrano JN, Williams CJ, Williams CB, Hedgepeth L, Burger P, Dilday T, Eblen ST, Armeson K, Hill EG, Yeh ES. Staurosporine, an inhibitor of hormonally up-regulated neu-associated kinase. 2018. Oncotarget 9(89):35962-35973. PMCID: PMC6267597.

Eblen ST. Extracellular-Regulated Kinases: Signaling from Ras to ERK substrates to control biological outcomes. Advances in Cancer Research, 2018. 138:99-142. PMCID: PMC6007982.

Eblen, ST, Bradley A. MOAP-1, UBR5 and cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer. 2017. Translational Cancer Research. S18-21. PMCID: PMC5878060.

Collier JB, Whitaker RM, Eblen ST, Schnellmann RG. Rapid renal regulation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ɣ coactivator-1α by extracellular signal-regulated kinase 1/2 in physiological and pathological conditions. 2016. Journal of Biological Chemistry 291:26850-26859. PMCID: PMC5207191.

Bradley A, Zheng H, Ziebarth A, Sakati W, Branham-O'Connor M, Blumer JB, Liu Y, Kistner-Griffin E, Rodriguez-Aguayo C, Lopez-Berestein G, Sood AK, Landen CN, Jr., Eblen ST. EDD enhances cell survival and cisplatin resistance and is a therapeutic target for epithelial ovarian cancer. Carcinogenesis. 2014; 35(5): 1100-9. PMCID: PMC4004201.

Liu Y, Conaway L, Rutherford Bethard J, Al-Ayoubi AM, Thompson Bradley A, Zheng H, Weed SA, Eblen ST. Phosphorylation of the alternative mRNA splicing factor 45 (SPF45) by Clk1 regulates its splice site utilization, cell migration and invasion. Nucleic Acids Res. 2013; 41(9): 4949-62. PMCID: PMC3643583.

Ali MW, Cacan E, Liu Y, Pierce JY, Creasman WT, Murph MM, Govindarajan R, Eblen ST, Greer SF, Hooks SB. Transcriptional suppression, DNA methylation, and histone deacetylation of the regulator of G-protein signaling 10 (RGS10) gene in ovarian cancer cells. PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e60185. PMCID: PMC3606337.

Al-Ayoubi AM, Zheng H, Liu Y, Bai T, Eblen ST. Mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation of splicing factor 45 (SPF45) regulates SPF45 alternative splicing site utilization, proliferation, and cell adhesion. Mol Cell Biol. 2012; 32(14): 2880-93. PMCID: PMC3416182.

Eblen ST. Regulation of chemoresistance via alternative messenger RNA splicing. Biochem Pharmacol. 2012; 83(8): 1063-72. PMCID: PMC3299811.

Bethard JR, Zheng H, Roberts L, Eblen ST. Identification of phosphorylation sites on the E3 ubiquitin ligase UBR5/EDD. J Proteomics. 2011; 75(2): 603-9. PMID: 21924388

Ali MW, Cacan E, Liu Y, Pierce JY, Creasman WT, Murph MM, Govindarajan R, Eblen ST, Greer SF, Hooks SB. Transcriptional suppression, DNA methylation, and histone deacetylation of the regulator of G-protein signaling 10 (RGS10) gene in ovarian cancer cells. PLoS One. 2013; 8(3): e60185. PMCID: PMC3606337.