Kim Lab

The research laboratory led by Jungsu Kim, PhD, is interested in understanding the molecular and cellular basis of neuronal and glial dysfunction in Alzheimer’s disease, other aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases, and normal brain aging.

Research in Kim lab is aimed at developing therapeutic strategies for Alzheimer’s disease by targeting microglial proteins implicated in neuroinflammation as well as brain lipid-regulating proteins, such as apolipoprotein E (ApoE), low density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1). Kim lab is also interested in the role of epigenetics and non-coding RNAs in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease and other aging-associated neurodegenerative diseases. Emerging transcriptomics technologies recently revealed that many non-coding regions encode functional RNAs, such as microRNAs (miRNAs) and long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs).

Using genetically modified animal models, human biospecimens, induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), emerging single-cell transcriptomics, single-cell proteomics, and systems biology approaches, Kim lab investigates the function of multiple microglial proteins, ApoE-binding proteins, and non-coding RNAs that may play critical roles in neurodegenerative diseases and brain aging.

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Active Research

Research interests are centered on understanding the critical role of ApoE-associated proteins, microRNAs and long non-coding RNAs, leading aging-associated neurodegenerative disease. The lab has been interested in the function of microglia-mediated immune responses to Alzheimer’s disease progression. The research goal is to develop therapeutic targets to delay progression of Alzheimer’s disease by targeting brain lipid-regulating proteins such as apolipoprotein E, low density lipoprotein receptor, and ATP-binding cassette transporter A1. The approaches used in the Kim lab include human and mouse genetics for candidate gene discovery, cell biology and animal modeling for functional study, small-scale drug screening, and long-term in vivo drug efficacy testing.
  • The Role of Aging-Associated MicroRNAs in Alzheimer’s Disease

    PI: Jungsu Kim

    Agency: NIH

    Period: 9/1/2016 – 5/31/2021

    The goals of this project are to determine the role of aging-associated microRNA cluster in brain insulin signaling during aging and memory loss using animal models.

  • Role of MicroRNA-33 in Alzheimer’s Disease

    PI: Jungsu Kim

    Agency: NIH

    Period: 9/1/2016 – 4/30/2021

    The goals of this project are to study how miR-33 regulates neuroinflammation, ABCA1, and lipid metabolism and to determine the therapeutic effect of anti-miR-33 ASO using animal models.

  • Role of LDLR in Regulating Metabolism of Apolipoprotein E and Amyloid-Beta

    PI: Jungsu Kim

    Agency: NIH

    Period: 9/15/2016 – 4/30/2021

  • MicroRNA-758-3p in Cognition and Alzheimer's Disease

    PI: Jungsu Kim

    Agency: NIH

    Period: 9/1/2016 – 5/31/2019

    The goal of this project is to study how microRNA-758-3p affects synaptic spine density and cognition by regulating CREB, ABCA1, ApoE lipidation and its implication to Alzheimer’s disease.

  • Modeling Neuronal Aging and Alzheimers Disease in Human Neurons Directly Converted from Fibroblasts

    PI: Andrew Yoo (Washington University)

    Agency: NIH

    Period: 9/15/2017 – 6/30/2022

    The major goal of this project is to use our established miRNA-TF- based conversion protocol to generate human cortical neurons, a neuronal type largely affected in AD, from fibroblast donors across the age spectrum, and obtain cortical neurons that represent donors’ ages as a cellular model of aging.

Recent Publications

  • 2017
    Yoon H, Belmonte KC, Kasten T, Bateman R, Kim J. (2017) Intra- and Inter-individual Variability of microRNA Levels in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid: Critical Implications for Biomarker Discovery. Sci Rep. 7(1):12720. [PMID: 28983117]

    Liao F, Yoon H, Kim J. (2017) Apolipoprotein E metabolism and functions in brain and its role in Alzheimer’s disease. Curr Opin Lipidol. 28(1):60-67. [PMID: 27922847]

  • 2016
    Kim J, Yoon H, Chung DE, Brown JL, Belmonte KC, Kim J. (2016) miR-186 is decreased in aged brain and suppresses BACE1 expression. J Neurochem. 137(3):436-45. [PMID: 26710318]
  • 2015
    Choi J, Gao J, Kim J, Hong C, Kim J, Tontonoz P. (2015) The E3 ubiquitin ligase Idol controls brain LDL receptor expression, ApoE clearance, and Aβ amyloidosis. Sci Transl Med. 7(314):314ra184. [PMID: 26582899]

    Kim J, Yoon H, Horie T, Burchett JM, Restivo JL, Rotllan N, Ramírez CM, Verghese PB, Ihara M, Hoe HS, Esau C, Fernández-Hernando C, Holtzman DM, Cirrito JR, Ono K, Kim J. (2015) microRNA-33 Regulates ApoE Lipidation and Amyloid-β Metabolism in the Brain. J Neurosci. 35(44):14717-26. [PMID: 26538644]

    http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/myncbi/jungsu.kim.1/bibliography/47851846/public/?sort=date&direction=ascending

Research Team

41977-Kim, Jungsu Jungsu Kim, PhD

Jungsu Kim, PhD

P. Michael Conneally Professor of Medical and Molecular Genetics

Additional Research Team Members

John, Sutha
Laboratory Manager

Al-Amin, Md. Mamun
Postdoctoral Fellow

Dabin, Luke Child
Postdoctoral Fellow

Karahan, Hande
Assistant Research Professor

Kim, Byungwook
Postdoctoral Fellow

Philtjens, Stephanie
Postdoctoral Fellow

McCord, Brianne
Senior Laboratory Assistant

Sharify, Ahmad Daniel
Senior Laboratory Assistant

Mantor, Jordan
Laboratory Research Assistant

Acri, Dom James
PhD Student

Smith, Daniel Curtis
PhD Student

Tate, Mason Douglas
PhD Student

Wijeratne, Sagara
PhD Student