The University of Arizona

Robert P. Erickson

Professor of Pediatrics and Molecular & Cellular Biology
M.D., Stanford University

Mammalian developmental and molecular genetics and medical genetics.

Research Interests

The Erickson laboratory is focused on mammalian genetics, especially as related to human development and disease. Mice are used extensively, primarily to provide animal models of human genetic disease. Transgenic mice are made, both for the lab and as a service to the campus community. Knockout mice, using homologous replacement in embryonic stem cells, are currently being added as a research method. The laboratory contributed to the positional cloning of the Niemann Pick C gene and has an active research program on that gene and this disease. Identification of loci contributing to susceptibility to orofacial clefting are also being mapped in mice.

Dr. Erickson is a pediatric geneticist and sees many patients with interesting disorders. These efforts, and collaborations with other investigators at the University of Arizona, have led to several mapping/positional cloning efforts. Mapping hopefully leading to gene identification of a new neurological disorder among the Navajo and Apache is commencing. Analysis of mapping data on dominantly-inherited lymphedema (in collaboration with Dr. Marlys Witte of the Department of Surgery) is also currently underway. The Erickson laboratory, in collaboration with other labs, has recently identified a gene involved in lymphedema with distichiasis.

Select Publications

Any link on the below references will take you off of the BMCB site and to an abstract of that particular paper.

Ahmad, I., S. Lope-Piedrafita, X. Bi, C. Hicks, Y. Yao, C. Yu, E. Chaitkin, C.M. Howison, L. Weberg, T.P. Trouard, and R.P. Erickson RP. 2005. Allopregnanolone treatment, both as a single injection or repetitively, delays demyelination and enhances survival of Niemann-Pick C mice. Journal of Neuroscience Research 82: 811-821.

Trouard, T.P., R.A. Heidenreich, J.F. Seeger, and R.P. Erickson. 2005. Diffusion tensor imaging in Niemann-Pick Type C disease. Pediatric Neurology 33: 325-330.

Cao, W., B. Chau, R. Hunter, D. Strnatka, C.A. McQueen, and R.P. Erickson. 2005. Only low levels of exogenous N-acetyltransferase can be achieved in transgenic mice. Pharmacogenomics Journal 5: 255-261.

Cao, W., R. Hunter, D. Strnatka, C.A. McQueen, and R.P. Erickson RP. 2005. DNA constructs designed to produce short hairpin, interfering RNAs in transgenic mice sometimes show early lethality and an interferon response. Journal of Applied Genetics 46: 217-225.

Erickson, R.P., I.J. Karolyi, and S.R. Diehl SR. 2005. Correlation of susceptibility to 6-aminonicotinamide and hydrocortisone-induced cleft palate. Life Sciences 76: 2071-2078.

Erickson, R.P., A. Bhattacharyya, R.J. Hunter, and R.A. Heidenreich, and N.J. Cherrington. 2005. Liver disease with altered bile acid transport in Niemann-Pick C mice on a high-fat, 1% cholesterol diet. American Journal of Physiology Gastrointestinal and Liver Physiology 289: G300-G307.

Erickson, R.P. 2005. Agenesis of tibia with bifid femur, congenital heart disease, and cleft lip with cleft palate or tracheoesophageal fistula: possible variants of Gollop-Wolfgang complex. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A 134: 315-317.

Bascunan-Castillo, E.C., R.P. Erickson, C.M. Howison, R.J. Hunter, R.H. Heidenreich, C. Hicks, T.P. Trouard, and R.J. Gillies. 2004. Tamoxifen and vitamin E treatments delay symptoms in the mouse model of Niemann-Pick C. Journal of Applied Genetics 45: 461-467.

Erickson, R.P., S. Skinner, H. Jacquet, D. Campion, P.G. Buckley, K.K. Mantripragada, and J.P. Dumanski. 2003. Does chromosome 22 have anything to do with sex determination: further studies on a 46,XX,22q11.2 del male. American Journal of Medical Genetics, Part A 123: 64-67.

Wang, L.L., A. Gannavarapu, C.L. Clericuzio, R.P. Erickson, A.D. Irvine, and S.E. Plon. 2003. Absence of RECQL4 mutations in poikiloderma with neutropenia in Navajo and non-Navajo patients. American Journal of Medical Genetics 118A: 299-301.

Vincent, I., B. Bu, and R.P. Erickson. 2003. Understanding Niemann-Pick type C disease: a fat problem. Current Opinion in Neurology 16: 155-161.

Erickson, R.P. 2003. Somatic gene mutation and human disease other than cancer. Mutation Research 543: 125-136.

Nonn, L., R.R. Williams, R.P. Erickson, and G. Powis. 2003. The absence of mitochondrial thioredoxin 2 causes massive apoptosis, exencephaly, and early embryonic lethality in homozygous mice. Molecular and Cellular Biology 23: 916-922.

Yi, Z., N. Garrison, O. Cohen-Barak, T.M. Karafet, R.A. King, R.P. Erickson, M.F. Hammer, and M.H. Brilliant. 2003. A 122.5-kilobase deletion of the P gene underlies the high prevalence of oculocutaneous albinism type 2 in the Navajo population. American Journal of Human Genetics 72: 62-72.

Loftus, S.K., R.P. Erickson, S.U. Walkley, M.A. Bryant, A. Incao, R.A. Heidenreich, and W.J. Pavan. 2002. Rescue of neurodegeneration in Niemann-Pick C mice by a prion-promoter-driven Npc1 cDNA transgene. Human Molecular Genetics 11:3107-3114.

Erickson, R.P., and O. Bernard. 2002. Studies on neuronal death in the mouse model of Niemann-Pick C disease. Journal of Neuroscience Research 68: 738-744.

Erickson, R.P., M. Kiela, P.J. Devine, P.B. Hoyer, and R.A. Heidenreich. 2002. mdr1a deficiency corrects sterility in Niemann-Pick C1 protein deficient female mice. Molecular Reproduction and Development 62: 167-173.

Erickson, R.P. 2001. Forkhead genes and human disease. Journal of Applied Genetics 42: 211-221.

Camargo, F., R.P. Erickson, W.S. Garver, G.S. Hossain, P.N. Carbone, R.A. Heidenreich, and J. Blanchard. 2001. Cyclodextrins in the treatment of a mouse model of Niemann-Pick C disease. Life Sciences 70: 131-142.

Erickson, R.P., S.L. Dageneis, M.S. Caulder, C.A. Downs, G. Herman, M.D. Jones, W.S. Kerstjens-Frederikse, A.C. Lidral, M. McDonald, C.C. Nelson, M. Witte, and T.W. Glover. 2001. Clinical heterogeneity in lymphedema-distichiasis with FOXC2 truncating mutations. Journal of Medical Genetics 38: 761-766.

Fang, J., S.L. Dagenais, R.P. Erickson, M.F. Arlt, M.W. Glynn, J.L. Gorski, L.H. Seaver, and T.W. Glover. 2000. Mutations in FOXC2 (MFH-1), a forkhead family transcription factor, are responsible for the hereditary lymphedema-distichiasis syndrome. American Journal of Human Genetics 67: 1382-1388.

Hsu, S.J., R.P. Erickson, J. Zhang, W.S. Garver, and R.A. Heidenreich. 2000. Fine linkage and physical mapping suggests cross-over suppression with a retroposon insertion at the npc1 mutation. Mammalian Genome 11: 774-778.

Zhang, J., and R.P. Erickson. 2000. A modifier of Niemann Pick C 1 maps to mouse chromosome 19. Mammalian Genome 11: 69-71.

Contact Information

    Mailing:
    Robert P. Erickson, Professor
    Department of Pediatrics
    University of Arizona
    Arizona Health Sciences Center 4341
    P. O. Box 245073
    Tucson, AZ 85724-5073

    Telephone:
    520-626-5483 (Office)
    520-626-2314 (Lab)

    Fax:
    520-
    626-7407

    Email:
    erickson@peds.arizona.edu

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