Doug Robinson

Douglas Robinson, Ph.D.

Professor

410-502-2850 (Office), 410-502-4905 (Lab), 410-955-4129 (Fax)

Department of Cell Biology
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
725 N. Wolfe Street, 100 Physiology
Baltimore, MD 21205

Website

Academic Titles

Professor

Research Topic

Molecular Mechanisms of Cell Shape Control from Model Systems to Disease States.

Research Summary

Multi-cellular living organisms grow from single cells into multicellular, complex systems composed of highly diverse cell-types organized into tissues, which in turn form organs and organ systems. To organize and maintain this complex architecture, the organism must undergo constant renewal through cell proliferation and elimination of unwanted cells. This process of tissue development and homeostasis requires chemical and mechanical information to be sensed by the cells within the tissues, and in turn, interpreted to guide their decision making: to divide, migrate, constrict, or die. Failure in these processes leads to diverse diseases, such as hypertension, degeneration, and cancer. We have been studying cytokinesis (cell division) as a model cell behavior that incorporates internally generated signals with external mechanical cues to drive healthy cell shape change.

Using a simple model organism Dictyostelium discoideum, we have discerned the mechanics that drive cytokinesis, and identified how the cell senses external forces (mechanosensing) and transmits them to changes in the chemical signaling pathways that guide cytokinesis. Working with computational biologist Pablo Iglesias (JHU Electrical and Computer Engineering), we have reached the point where we have a highly quantitative understanding of cytokinesis and cellular mechanosensing, which is based on measured parameters and has predictive power. We continue to pursue important fundamental questions using this model organism and cell process.

While we study how these processes direct cytokinesis, we are also learning how these same principles apply to diseases such as cancer, lung and motor neuron diseases. To accomplish such broad goals, we collaborate closely with a several basic and clinical scientists. For example, with Mike Overholtzer (Memorial Sloan Kettering), we determined how mechanical cues guide aberrant behaviors in breast cancer. Here, we found that cancer and non-cancer cells compete with each other, and due to their unique mechanical properties, the cancer cell can engulf and kill the non-cancer cell. Working with Bob Anders (JHU Pathology), we are examining how changes in cell mechanics correlate with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cancer (PDAC) progression. In this context, key molecular changes associated with disease progression are also known to regulate central elements of the cell’s contractile machinery. We are finding that many of the mechanosensory proteins undergo dramatic changes in expression as a normal pancreatic ductal epithelial cell progresses to metastatic disease. With Ramana Sidhaye (JHU Pulmonology), we are exploring the acute changes to cellular architecture that occur in the lung epithelia in response to insults such as cigarette smoke, which can ultimately lead to diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer. Fascinatingly, many of the same principles apply to degenerative motor neuron disease, and we have found a way to apply our fundamental discoveries here too by working with Charlotte Sumner and Tom Lloyd (JHU Neurology). Finally, in collaboration with Janice Evans (Bloomberg School of Public Health), we found that these same principles apply to the development of a mammalian egg where disruption of the cell mechanics machinery causes defects in the formation of a healthy egg; such defects could be the cause of some types of human infertility and/or birth defects.

We are also leveraging our sophisticated understanding of cytokinesis, cell mechanics, and cellular mechanosensing to identify and develop small molecule modulators (i.e. possible future drugs) of cell mechanics. Such tools will be invaluable for dissecting tissue mechanics during normal development, tissue homeostasis, and pathological situations such as tumor formation and metastasis. To identify and develop small molecule modulators of cell mechanics, we draw upon the fact that cytokinesis in the simple amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum is exquisitely sensitive to changes in cell mechanics and that perturbation of these mechanics leads to an easily measurable phenotype, which is the formation of multinucleated cells. Towards this goal, we developed an automated image analysis platform called CIMPAQ for high-throughput drug screening for such modulators. In initial experiments, we identified a novel compound, carbamate-7, which shifts one of the major cell mechanics proteins myosin II into the cell skin (cell cortex) where it increases cortical tension and elasticity. We are testing the active component of this compound in several of the disease systems described above and already have found that the compound can correct the aberrant mechanics of metastatic cells. With Bob Anders, we will soon initiate animal studies to test the ability of the compound to alter the trajectory of metastatic disease.

Overall, our program seeks to determine how cells and tissues integrate chemical and mechanical information flow for normal tissue growth and homeostasis with the ultimate goal of being able to guide these processes with small molecules for therapeutic purposes. Starting from a simple model system, we are able to uncover and dissect fundamental principles of cell biology that would be next to impossible to discover in more complex situations. Then, by knowing what to look for, we find the same principles underlie various diseases, which we are then working to correct with small molecules (potential future drugs).

Biosketch

Lab Members

Name Classification Email Phone
Barbara Talavera Figueroa Student btalave1@jhu.edu
Brooke Waechtler Student bwaecht1@jhmi.edu
Eleana Parajon Student eparajo1@jhmi.edu 410-502-4905
Emma Morin Student
Mark Jacob Student mjacob60@jhmi.edu 410-502-4905
Pamela Hamm Sr. Laboratory Manager hamm2330@yahoo.com
Rajan Jayasankar Student rjayasa1@jhu.edu
Seohee Mun Student
Shantel Angstadt Student sangsta1@jhmi.edu 410-502-4905

Publications

  • Kuhn J, Banerjee P, Haye A, Robinson DN, Iglesias PA and Devreotes PN. 2024. Complementary Cytoskeletal Feedback Loops Control Signal Transduction Excitability and Cell Polarity. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2024 Feb 13:2024.02.13.580131. doi: 10.1101/2024.02.13.580131.  PMC10888828.
  • Balaban AE, Nguyen LTS, Parajón E, and Robinson DN*. Non-muscle myosin IIB is a driver of cellular reprogramming. Biol. Cell, 2023; In press. DOI: 10.1091/mbc.E21-08-0386.
  • Plaza- Rodriguez a., Nguyen LTS, Robinson DN, Iglesias, PA. Particle-based model of mechanosensory contractility kit assembly. Biophys. J. 2022; 121: 1-15. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2022.10.031
  • Nguyen LTS and Robinson DN*. The lectin Discoidin I acts in the cytoplasm to help assemble the contractile machinery. Cell Biol. 2022; 221(11):e202202063. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1083/jcb.202202063
  • Nguyen LTS, Jacob MAC, Parajón E, and Robinson DN*. Cancer as a biophysical disease: targeting the mechanical-adaptability program. J. 2022; 121(19): 3573-3585. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2022.04.039.
  • Angstadt S, Zhu Q, Jaffee EM, Robinson DN*, and Anders RA*. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma cortical mechanics and clinical implications. Frontiers in Oncology, 2022; 12: 1-15.
  • Srivastava V, Balaban AE. Robinson DN.* In Joseph Jez (ed) The Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry 3rd Edition, 2021; Oxford: Elsevier. Vol. 5, pp. 42-48.
  • DiNapoli, KT, Robinson DN, Iglesias PA. A mesoscale mechanical model of cellular interactions. J. 2021; 120: 4905-4917. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bpj.2021.10.021
  • Kliment CR, Nguyen JMK, Kaltreider MJ, Lu YW, Claypool SM, Radder JE, Sciurba FC, Zhang Y, Gregory AD, Iglesias PA, Sidhaye VK, Robinson DN*. Adenine Nucleotide Translocase regulates airway epithelial metabolism, surface hydration, and ciliary function. J. Cell Sci. 2021; 134(4): jcs257162.
  • Nguyen J, Liu Y, Nguyen L, Sidhaye VK, Robinson DN*. Discovery and quantitative dissection of cytokinesis using Dictyostelium discoideum. Kimmel A. ed. Methods Mol. Biol. 2021; In press.
  • Parajón E, Surcel A, Robinson DN*. The Mechanobiome: A Goldmine for Cancer Therapeutics. Am. J. Physiol.-Cell Physiol. 2020; In press. DOI: 10.1152/ajpcell.00409.2020
  • Nguyen JMK, Robinson DN*, Sidhaye VK*. Why New Biology Must Be Uncovered to Advance Therapeutic Strategies for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Am. J. Phys. Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. 2020; In press. DOI: 10.1152/ajplung.00367.2020
  • DiNapoli K, Robinson DN, Iglesias PA. Tools for computational analysis of moving boundary problems in cellular mechanobiology.  Wiley Interdiscip Rev Syst Biol Med. 2020 Dec 10; e1514. doi: 10.1002/wsbm.1514.
  • Woolums BM, McCray BA, Sung H, Tabuchi M, Sullivan JM, Ruppell K, Yang Y, Mamah C, Aisenberg WH, Saavedra-Rivera PC, Larin BS, Lau A, Robinson DN. TRPV4 disrupts mitochondrial transport and causes axonal degeneration via CaMKII-dependent elevation of intracellular Ca2+. Nat. Comm. 2020; 11(1):2679. doi: 10.1038/s41467-020-16411-5.
  • Nguyen L, Robinson DN. The Unusual Suspects in Cytokinesis: Fitting the Pieces Together. Front. Cell Dev. Bio. 2020; 8:441. doi: 10.3389/fcell.2020.00441.
  • Bryan DS, Stack M, Krystofiak K, Cichoń U, Thomas DG, Surcel A, Schiffhauer ES, Khodarev NN, Xue L, Poli EC, Pearson AT, Posner MC, Robinson DN, Rock RS, Weichselbaum RR. 4-hydroxyacetophenone modulates the actomyosin cytoskeleton to reduce metastasis. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA. 117 (36)22423-22429.  doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2014639117. /PDF
  • Kliment CR, Nguyen JMK, Kaltreider MJ, Lu YW, Claypool SM, Bailey KL, Radder JE, Sciurba FC, Zhang Y, Gregory AD, Iglesias PA, Sidhaye VK, Robinson DN*. Adenine Nucleotide Translocase regulates airway epithelial homeostasis, mitochondrial metabolism and ciliary function. bioRxiv. May 19 2020. DOI: 10.1101/2020.05.18.101378

  • Srivastava V, Balaban AE. Robinson DN.* Cytokinesis. In Joseph Jez (ed) The Encyclopedia of Biological Chemistry 3rd Edition, 2020; Academic Press, Waltham, MA., In press.

  • Crews DC, Wilson KL, Sohn J, Kabacoff CM, Poynton SL, Murphy LR, Bolz J, Wolfe A, White PT, Will C, Collins C, Gauda E, Robinson DN*. Helping scholars overcome socioeconomic barriers to medical and biomedical careers: Creating a pipeline initiative.  Teach. Learn. Med. 2020; 1-12. DOI: 10.1080/10401334.2020.1729161.

  • Kothari P, Johnson C, Sandone C, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. How the mechanobiome drives cell behavior, viewed through the lens of control theory. J. Cell Sci. 2019; 132:1-10. jcs234476.

  • Surcel A, Schiffhauer ES, Thomas DG, Zhu Q, DiNapoli K, Herbig M, Otto O, West-Foyle H, Jacobi A, Kräter M, Plak K, Guck J, Jaffee EM, Iglesias PA, Anders RA, Robinson DN. Targeting mechanoresponsive proteins in pancreatic cancer: 4-hydroxyacetophenone blocks dissemination and invasion by activating MYH14. Cancer Res. 2019; 79: 4665-4678.

  • Surcel A, Robinson DN.* Meddling with myosin’s mechanobiology in cancer. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2019; 116(31): 15322-15323.

  • Schiffhauer ES, Ren Y, Iglesias V, Kothari P, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN*. Myosin IIB assembly-state determines myosin IIB mechanosensitive dynamics. J. Cell Biol. 2019; 218(3): 895-908. (Includes 4 pages of Supplemental Figures)

  • Kothari P, Srivastava V, Aggarwal V, Tchernyshyov I, Van Eyk J, Ha T, and Robinson DN*. Contractility kits promote assembly of the mechanoresponsive cytoskeletal network. J. Cell Sci. 2019; 132(2): 1-12. (Cover article; includes 11 pages of Supplemental Figures and Tables; first author was featured in a “First Person – Priyanka Kothari” interview, J. Cell Sci 2019 132: jcs229195)

  • Schiffhauer ES, Ren Y, Iglesias V, Kothari P, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. 2019. Myosin IIB assembly-state determines myosin IIB mechanosensitive dynamics. J. Cell Biol. In press.

  • Liu Y and Robinson D*. Recent advances in cytokinesis: Understanding the molecular underpinnings. F1000Research 2018; 7(F1000 Faculty Rev): 1849.

  • Duan R, Kim JH, Shilagardi K, Schiffhauer E, Lee, D, Son S, Li S, Thomas C, Luo T, Fletcher DA, Robinson DN, Chen EH. Spectrin is mechanoresponsive protein shaping the architecture of the fusogenic synapse during cell-cell fusion. Nat. Cell Biol. 20, 688-698.

  • Evans JP, Robinson DN. Micropipette aspiration of oocytes to assess cortical tension. Mouse oocyte development – Methods and Protocols, Eds M.H. Verlhac, and M.E. Terret.  Methods Mol. Biol. 2018; In press.  

  • West-Foyle H, Kothari P, Osborne J, Robinson DN. 14-3-3 proteins tune non-muscle myosin-II assembly. J. Biol. Chem. ​2018; In press.

  • Thomas DG, Robinson DN. 2017. The fifth sense: Mechanosensory regulation of alpha-actinin-4 and its relevance for cancer metastasis. Sem. Cell Dev. Biol. 2017; 71: 68-74.

  • Nishida K, Brune KA, Putcha N, Mandke P, O’Neal WK, Shade D, Srivastava V, Wang M, An SS, Drummond MB, Hansel NN, Robinson DN, Sidhaye V.  2017. Cigarette smoke disrupts monolayer integrity by altering epithelial cell-cell adhesion and cortical tension. Am. J. Physiol. – Lung Cell Mol. Physiol. 2017; 313(3): L581-L591.

  • Miao C, Schiffhauer ES, Okeke E, Robinson DN, Luo T. 2017. Parallel compression is a fast, low-cost assay for the high throughput screening of mechanosensory cytoskeletal proteins in cells. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017; 9(34): 28168-28179. ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2017; 9(34): 28168-28179

  • Hamann JC, Surcel A, Chen R, Teragawa C, Albeck JG, Robinson DN, Overholtzer M. Entosis is induced by glucose starvation. Cell Reports. 20(1): 201-210. 2017

  • Surcel A, Schiffhauer ES, Thomas D, Zhu Q, DiNapoli K, Herbig M, Otto O, Guck J, Jaffee E, Iglesias P, Anders R, Robinson DN. Harnessing the adaptive potential of mechanoresponsive proteins to overwhelm pancreatic cancer dissemination and invasion. bioRxiv 190553; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/190553. 2017

  • Schiffhauer E, Robinson DN. 2017. Mechanochemical signaling directs cell shape change. Biophys. J. 112: 207-214. (Featured article)

  • Kothari P, Schiffhauer E, Robinson DN. Cytokinesis from nanometers to micrometers and microseconds to minutes. 2017. Methods Cell Biol. 137:307-322.

  • Ibo M, Srivastava V, Robinson DN, Gagnon Z. Cell blebbing in confined microfluidic environments. PLoS One 2016; 11(10): e0163866.

  • Bai H, Zhu Q, Surcel A, Luo T, Ren Y, Guan B, Liu Y, Wu N, Joseph NE, Wang T-L, Zhang N, Pan D, Alpini G, Robinson DN, Anders RA. Yes-Associated Protein impacts adherens junction assembly through regulating actin cytoskeleton organization. Am. J. Physiol. – Gastrointest. Liver Phys. 2016; In press.

  • Srivastava V, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN*. 2016. Cytokinesis: Robust cell shape regulation. Semin. Cell Dev. Biol. 2016; 53:39-44.

  • Schiffhauer ES, Luo T, Mohan K, Srivastava V, Qian X, Griffis E, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN*. Mechanoaccumulative elements of the mammalian actin cytoskeleton. Curr. Biol. 2016; 26: 1473-1479.

  • Mackenzie ACL, Kyle DD, McGinnis LA, Lee HJ, Aidana N, Robinson DN, Evans JP. Cortical mechanics and myosin-II abnormalities associated with post-ovulatory aging:  Implications for functional defects in aged eggs. Mol. Hum. Reprod. 2016; 22(6):397-409.

  • Christianson MS, Gerolstein AL, Lee HJ, Monseur BC, Robinson DN, Evans JP. Effects of inhibition of Ubiquitin C-Terminal Hydrolase L1 (UCH-L1) on sperm incorporation and cortical tension in mouse eggs. Mol. Reprod. Dev. 2016; 83(3): 188-189.

  • Kim JH, Ren Y, Ng WP, Li S, Son S, Kee Y-S, Zhang S, Zhang G, Fletcher DA, Robinson DN, Chen EH. Mechanical tension drives cell membrane fusion. Dev. Cell 2015; 561-573. 

  • Srivastava V, Robinson DN. Mechanical stress and network structure drive protein dynamics during cytokinesis. Curr. Biol. 2015; 25(5): 663-670. 

  • Surcel A, Ng W-P, West-Foyle H, Zhu Q, Ren Y, Avery L, Krenc AK, Meyers D, Rock RS, Anders RA, Freel Meyers C, Robinson DN*. Pharmacological activation of myosin II paralogs to correct cell mechanics defects. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2015; 112(5): 1428-1433. 

  • Ren Y, West-Foyle H, Surcel A, Miller C, Robinson DN. Genetic suppression of a phosphomimic myosin II identifies system-level factors promoting myosin II cleavage furrow accumulation. Mol. Biol. Cell. 2014; 25: 4150-4165.

  • Sun Q, Luo T, Ren Y, Shirasawa S, Sasazuki T, Cibas ES, Hodgson L, Robinson DN, Overholtzer M. Competition between human cells by entosis. Cell Res. 2014; 24: 1299-1310.

  • Luo T, Mohan K, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. Molecular mechanisms of cellular mechanosensing. Nat. Mater. 2013; 12: 1064-1071.

  • Kee YS, Ren Y, Dorfman D, Iijima M, Firtel RA, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. A mechanosensory system governs myosin II accumulation in dividing cells. Mol. Biol. Cell 2012; 23(8): 1510-1523.

  • Poirier CC, Ng WP, Robinson DN, Iglesias PA. Deconvolution of the cellular force-generating subsystems that govern cytokinesis furrow ingression. PLoS Comp. Biol. 2012; 8(4): e1002467. 

  • Dickinson D, Robinson DN, Nelson WJ, Weis WI. α-catenin and IQGAP regulate myosin localization to control epithelial tube morphogenesis in Dictyostelium. Dev. Cell 2012; 23: 533-546.

  • Luo T, Mohan K, Srivastava V, Ren Y, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN. Understanding the cooperative interactions between myosin II and actin crosslinkers mediated by actin filaments during mechanosensation. Biophys. J. 2012; 102(2): 238-247. 

  • Zhou Q, Kee Y-S, Poirier CC, Jelinek C, Osborne J, Divi S, Surcel A, Tran ME, Eggert US, Müller-Taubenberger A, Iglesias PA, Cotter RJ, Robinson DN. 14-3-3 coordinates microtubules, Rac, and myosin II to control cell mechanics and cytokinesis. Curr. Biol. 2010; 20:1881-1889.

  • Larson SM, Lee HJ, Hung P-h, Matthews LM, Robinson DN, Evans JP. Cortical mechanics and meiosis II completion in mammalian oocytes are mediated by myosin-II and ezrin-radixin-moesin (ERM) proteins. Mol. Biol. Cell 2010; 21:3182-3192.

  • Ren Y, Effler JC, Norstrom M, Luo T, Firtel RA, Iglesias PA, Rock, RS, Robinson DN. Mechanosensing through cooperative interactions between myosin-II and the actin crosslinker cortexillin-I. Curr. Biol. 2009; 19(17):1421-1428.

  • Reichl EM, Ren Y, Morphew MK, Delannoy M, Effler JC, Girard KD, Divi S, Iglesias PA, Kuo SC, Robinson DN.* 2008. Interactions between myosin and actin crosslinkers control cytokinesis contractility dynamics and mechanics. Curr. Biol. 18: 471-480. PMCID: PMC2361134

  • Effler JC, Kee Y-S, Berk JM, Tran MN, Iglesias PA, Robinson DN.* Mitosis-specific mechanosensing and contractile protein redistribution control cell shape. Curr. Biol. 2006; 16(19):1962-1967. PMCID: PMC2474462

  • Zhang W., Robinson DN.* Balance of actively generated contractile and resistive forces controls cytokinesis dynamics. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2005; 102(20):7186-7191. PMCID: PMC1129136

  • Robinson DN*, Spudich JA. Dynacortin, a genetic link between equatorial contractility and global shape control discovered by library complementation of a Dictyostelium cytokinesis mutant. J. Cell Biol. 2000; 150(4):823-838. PMCID: PMC2175282