Karoline Briegel

Assistant Professor
Department of Biochemistry and
Molecular Biology
Braman Breast Cancer Institute

Ph.D. (1995) University of Vienna,
IMP Vienna, Austria

Postdoctoral Research:
NYU Medical Center
University of Texas at Austin

Transcriptional control of
mammary development and
tumorigenesis
Mouse models of
mammogenesis and
breast cancer

Phone: (305) 243-4770 Fax: (305) 243-9249
E-Mail:  kbriegel@med.miami.edu

Research Interests:  

One emerging cause of human breast cancer is the inappropriate activation of genes that control key processes during embryonic development. However, at present very little is understood about how these developmental regulatory proteins contribute to mammary tumor formation and/or progression. One class of developmental regulatory genes are tissue-specific transcription factors, which mediate changes in gene expression in response to extrinsic signals leading to changes in cell behavior that occur both during normal and cancerous development. Our laboratory studies the role of embryonic transcription factors in normal and neoplastic mammary gland development using the mouse as a model organism. Mouse mutants are created using molecular genetic approaches including conditional gene targeting and transgenic techniques to study the in vivo function of these effector molecules in mammogenesis. In addition, we investigate how mammary-specific transcription factors regulate gene expression at the molecular and biochemical levels using in vitro protein-DNA interaction studies and proteomics techniques. Our ultimate goal is to elucidate the molecular networks that orchestrate mammary gland development and that when perturbed lead to breast cancer. A better understanding of these networks will be pivotal in the development of better prognostic and clinical treatments and will provide us with new tools for tissue regeneration in cancer patients.

Selected Publications:

1.  Briegel, K.J., and Joyner, A.L., (2001). Identification and characterization of Lbh, a novel conserved nuclear protein expressed in early limb and heart development. Dev. Biology 233, 291-304.

2.  Heikenwalder, M.F., Koritschoner, N.P., Pajer, P., Chaboissier, M.-C., Kurz, S.M., Briegel, K.J., Bartunek, P., & Zenke, M., (2001). Molecular cloning, expression and regulation of the avian tubby-like protein 1 (tulp1) gene. Gene 273, 131-139.

3. Briegel, K.J., Baldwin, H.S., Epstein, J.A., and Joyner, A.J., (2005). Congenital heart disease reminiscent of partial trisomy 2p syndrome in mice transgenic for the transcription factor Lbh; Development 132: 3305-3316.

4. Briegel, K.J., Baker, A., and Jain, C.; Identification and analysis of Escherichia coli Ribonuclease E dominant-negative mutants, Genetics 172 (2006); 7-15.

5. Briegel, K.J., (2006). Embryonic transcription factors in human breast cancer. IUBMB Life 58: 123-132.

Honors and Professional Activities: