Faculty
Peying Fong
Assistant Professor
PhD, Physiology, University of California,
San Francisco, 1989
Phone (785) 532-4524
e-mail pfong@vet.k-state.edu
Summary of Research Interests:
The Fong lab studies the regulation of sodium, chloride and iodide transport by epithelial cells. In particular, we are interested in how specific membrane transporters and channels functionally interact to promote iodide accumulation by the thyroid gland. This process is essential for the synthesis of triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine (T4), key hormones in governing metabolism, cardiac contractility and fetal development. Recently, my lab demonstrated that the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator, CFTR, is an important player in thyroid epithelial transport. In turn, impaired thyroid status may affect the etiology of cystic fibrosis. Our work on primary thyroid epithelial cell cultures is complemented with studies using well-defined epithelial cell lines, as well as overexpression systems such as Xenopus laevis oocytes. Of particular interest are the physical and functional interactions between CFTR--and other members of the multidrug resistance/ATP binding cassette (MDR/ABC) family--with SLC5 and SLC26 solute carrier family members. Our strategy for understanding the cross-talk between these transport processes combines electrophysiological, biochemical, molecular biological and cell biological approaches. We anticipate that our work ultimately will facilitate the development of robust mechanistic models for understanding not only thyroid hormonogenesis, but also epithelial physiology and pathophysiology at large.
Selected publications:
Fong, P. (2011). Thyroid iodide efflux: a team effort? J. Physiol. Published ahead of print October 10, 2011, doi:10.1113/jphysiol.2011.218594.
Li, Y., Ganta, S. and Fong, P. (2011) Endogenous surface expression of ΔF508 CFTR mediates cAMP-stimulated Cl- currentin CFTR ΔF508/ΔF508 pig thyroid epithelial cells. Exp. Physiol.
Published ahead of print September 23, 2011, doi:10.1113/expphysiol.2011.060756.
Garnett, J.P., Hickman, E., Burrows, R., Hegyi, P., Tiszlavicz, L., Cuthbert, A.W., Fong, P., and Gray, M.A. (2011) Novel role for Pendrin in orchestrating bicarbonate secretion in CFTR-expressing airway serous cells. J. Biol. Chem. (JBC Papers in Press, published online 13 September 2011 as M111.266734; http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.M111.266734)
Li, H., Ganta, S. and Fong, P. (2010) Altered ion transport by thyroid epithelia from CFTR -/- pigs suggests a mechanism for hypothyroidism in CF patients. Exp Physiol. 95:1132-1144.
Kirchner, M., Timm, W., Fong, P., Wangemann, P. and Steen, H. 2010. A machine learning approach for on-the-fly fractional mass filtering and targeted precursor fragmentation in mass spectrometry experiments. Bioinformatics. 26:791-7.
Wangemann, P., Kim, H.-M., Billings, S., Nakaya, K., Li, X, Singh, R., Marcus, D. and Fong, P. 2009. Developmental delays consistent with cochlear hypothyroidism contribute to failure to develop hearing in mice lacking Slc26a4/pendrin expression. Am. J. Physiol. Renal Physiol. 297: F1435-1457.
de Andrade Pinto, A.C.O., Barbosa, C.M.L., Ornellas, D.S., Novaira, H.J., Souza-Menezes, J., Ortiga-Carvalho, T.M., Fong, P. and Morales, M.M. (2007) Thyroid hormones stimulate renal expression of CFTR. Cell Physiol. Biochem. 20: 83-90.
Gray, M.A. and Fong, P. (2007) Orchestration of epithelial chloride transport. In: M. Pusch, Volume Ed., E. Bittar, Series Ed., Advances in Molecular and Cell Biology: Chloride movements across cellular membranes, 38: 329-367, Elsevier, Inc.
Wang, Y.H., Guggino, W.B. and Fong, P. (2007) Anion Channels. In: Hebert, S. and Alpern, R., Eds., The Kidney: Physiology and Pathophysiology. 4th Edition. Elsevier, Inc.
Ikeda, M., Fong, P., Boletta, A., Qian, F., Zhang, X.-M., Cheng, J., Cai, H., Germino, G.G. & Guggino, W.B. (2006) A regulatory role of polycystin-1 on cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator plasma membrane expression. Cell Physiol. Biochem. 18: 9-20.
Sheridan, M.B., Fong, P., Groman, J.D., Conrad, C., Flume, P., Diaz, R., Harris, C., Knowles, M. & Cutting, G.R. 2005. Mutations in the beta subunit of the epithelial Na+ channel in patients with a cystic fibrosis-like syndrome. Hum. Mol. Genet. 14: 3493-3498.
Fong, P. 2004. ClC-K channels: if the drug fits, use it. EMBO Rep. 5: 565-566.
Santos Ornellas, D., Grozovsky, R., Goldenberg, R.C., Carvalho, D.P., Fong, P., Guggino, W.B. & Morales, M.M. 2003. Thyroid hormone modulates ClC-2 chloride channel gene expression in rat renal proximal tubules. J. Endocrinology. 178: 503-511.
Fong, P., Argent, B.E., Guggino, W.B. & Gray, M.A. 2003. Characterization of vectorial chloride transport pathways in the human pancreatic duct adenocarcinoma cell line, HPAF. Am. J. Physiol. Cell. 285: C433-445.
Cooper, G.J. & Fong, P. 2003. Relationship between intracellular pH and chloride in Xenopus oocytes expressing the chloride channel, ClC-0. Am. J. Physiol. Cell: 284: C331-338.
Wills, N.K. and Fong, P. 2001. ClC chloride channels in epithelia: recent progress and remaining puzzles. News Physiol. Sci. 16: 161-166.